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/T\i8sioi7 Cife 19 j^avuail 



[T\emoir of 



l^eu. U/iIliaAr\ p. ^lexapder. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



^ Shelf 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



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Hyi%s_ 




REV. WiM. P. ALEXANDER. 



Mission Life im Hawaii. 



IvIEI^OIR. OIi^ 



RM. WILLIAM P. ALEXANDER. 




BY* <■' '■ 
JAMES MVALEXANDER. 



OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, 

Pacific Press Publishing Company, 

1888. 



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'V' 



k^A 



COPYRIGHTKD, 1 888, BY 

JAMES M. ALEXANDER. 



PREFACE. 

The missionary Fathers who, through God's blessing, 
changed Hawaii's pagan night to day, have nearly all gone to 
their eternal rest; and now it is becoming a matter of increas- 
ing interest to save the records of their character and work. 
Every letter and manuscript of theirs, every reminiscence and 
memorial of them, is becoming very precious to their relatives 
and those interested in the mission cause. 

It is with a view to save some of these priceless relics, that 
this memorial volume of Rev. William P. Alexander is pub- 
lished for his children and particular friends. There are writ- 
ings by him and of him, which they feel they cannot afford to 
lose; there are narratives of his experience, the influence of 
which they need; there are tributes of afiection, which they de- 
sire to weave as a wreath of immortelles about his memory and 
the mission cause. 

In accordance with what is known of his unassuming dis- 
position it is not desired to claim for him more regard than for 
the other missionary Fathers, but to show what divine grace 
may accomplish in excellence and beauty of character and in 
self-sacrificing labor to the glory of God. 

I have been assisted by my brother, Prof. Wm. D. Alexan- 
der, in collecting the materials for this volume, and by other 
members of the family in its publication, to all of whom it has 
been a labor of love and of interest in the mission cause. 

Since the above was written the death of Mrs. Mary Alex- 
ander, the widow of Rev. Wm. P. Alexander, has occurred. 
Another chapter is added, giving an. account of her sickness 
and death, and tributes to her memory. 

(iii) J. M. A. 



CONTENTS. 

Page. 

I. Ancestry and Early Life, 7 

11. 'J'heological Education and Mlssionary 

Consecration, 13 

III. Voyage to the Hanyaiian Islands, ... 21 

IV. Arrival at the Hawaiian Islands, ... 36 
V. Deputation to the English Missionaries at 

THE Society Islands, 41 

VI. Travels on Hawaii, 66 

Vn. The Marquesas Islands, 71 

VIII. Waioli, 88 

IX. Lahainaluna, 100 

X. Wailuku, 106 

XI. Voyages to the Marouksas and Micro 

ni.sian Islands, 113 

XII. The Wailuku Home, 122 

XI n. Sickness and Death, 133 

XIV. Memorial Discourses, Testimonials, and 

Sermons, 139 

XV. Mrs. Mary A. Alexander. Account of Her 

Death and Tributes no Her Memory, 183 



CHAPTER I. 

ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE. 

THE lineage of Rev. William Alexander can be 
traced with considerable certainty to several broth- 
ers of the name of Alexander, who, about the year 1734, 
emigrated from Scotland to America. 

There is a legend that seven brothers of that name 
agreed together to remove to the New World, and that 
at the last moment, when about to embark, they sent for 
a clergyman to baptize their bairns. As this clergyman 
did not belong to the Established Church of Scotland, 
he was arrested by the civil authorities for administer- 
ing the ordinance of baptism. The brothers looked for 
advice in this dilemma to their mother, whom, according 
to the Scottish customs, they implicitly obeyed even in 
mature age. She, with their families on board of the 
vessel, prayed over the matter all day, and at evening 
said, " Gang ye awa men, and tak our minister and 
bring him on boord. We will tak him to America with 
us." They therefore took him out of jail in the night, 
and with him put to sea. When the next morning the 
magistrates sought for him for trial, he was far away on 
his voyage to the land of liberty. He remained with 
these brothers the rest of his lif^?, ministering to their 
families as their pastor. 

One of this family had previously emigrated to Lon- 
donderry, in the North of Ireland, and three of his 

(7) 



8 MEMOIR OF 

sons removed to America and settled in the neighbor- 
hood of the above-mentioned brothers. 

These families were generally well educated, as is 
shown by the books they transmitted to their children, 
and they had the means of living in comfort, as is shown 
by the houses they built. They settled chiefly in the 
vicinity of Frederickstown, Maryland, and thence emi- 
grated in various directions. Prof. Archibald Alex- 
ander, of Princeton Seminary, was one of their descend- 
ants, as also Prof William Alexander, of the Presby- 
terian Theological Seminary of San Francisco. 

In one of these families Patrick Alexander was born 
in Frederickstown, Maryland, in the year 1740. His 
third son, James Alexander, born September 25, 1770, 
removed to Virginia, and there married Mrs. Mary Rose 
Depuy, December 26, 1793. In 1800 he removed to 
Kentucky, and made a home near Paris in Bourbon 
County. 

This James Alexander is said to have been " a wise 
and godly Presbyterian elder." It was his custom to 
gather his family together Sabbath evenings to repeat 
at one sitting the whole *' Shorter Catechism," and at 
other times to give Bible proof texts for all its doctrines. 
In this way a foundation was laid for a knowledge of 
theology, that was of great service to three of his sons, 
Thomas, Samuel, and William, who became ministers of 
the gospel. He died suddenly at Cincinnati, October 3, 
1 82 1, aged fifty-one years. His sixth son, William 
Patterson Alexander, is the subject of this narrative. 

Of the early life of William P. Alexander about 
all that is known is contained in brief records written by 
him for his own benefit, extracts from which are here 
piven : — 



REV. JVM. P. ALEXANDER. 9 

^'Princeton, N. /., February 10, i82g. — I now under- 
take to write a short account of my life, that hereafter I 
may more easily refer to God's deah'ngs with me, and 
that by reviewing what is pa^t I may acquire a greater 
knowledge of my own character. ... I was born 
the 25th of July, 1805, at the waters of Stoner, about 
two miles soutlieast of Paris, Kentucky. ... At 
five } ears of age I was sent to school to John T. Edgar, 
at Paris, Kentucky, one mile and a quarter from home, 
during which time I had the measles. After this I went 
to a country school near Col. Henry Clay's, half a mile 
from home, to a succession of teachers, till icS2i, viz., 
Sterman, Mourning, Henry, Moffit, and David Dunlap. 
At these schools I learned almost nothing, except with 
Henry and Dunlap. The former waked me up to seek 
for a reason for everything I did in aritlimetic; the latter 
was my teacher in geometry, algebra, surveying, and 
astronomw" 

This awaking to inquire for reasons for mathematical 

processes was evidently the beginning of a new era in 

• his life. His diary was intended as a private record of 

his inner religious life, and as such it is a precious relic. 

But his outward life was that of other boys \\\ those 
early days, among the sons of pioneer hunters and 
Indian fighters of Kentucky, and he entered with keen 
zest into the stirring life of the period. In later }'cars 
his character was deeply imbued with the chivalrous 
traits that honorably distinguished the Kentucky gentle- 
man of " the old school." 

It appears that through the influence of his pious 
parents his mind was profoundly occupied from his 
earliest da}s with the subject of religion. Of this we 
finel the following accounts in his diary: — 



10 MEMOIR OF 

" During the time I was at scliool, the pious exhorta- 
tions of my father caused me to frequently set about 
reform; often did I endeavor to work out a legal right- 
eousness by abstaining from the more gross violations of 
God's law, by praying, so far as form was concerned, two 
or three times a day; but finding that I remained the 
same, I at length gave up the effort. . . . But so 
frequently did the light of God's truth penetrate my 
mind, that about every month after I was twelve years 
of age, I made efforts after holiness, though as often 
convinced that they were unavailing." 

He has mentioned that during this time he once 
plead with his brother John, whom he observed anxious 
on the subject of religion, not to defer seeking an inter- 
est in Christ, a remarkable procedure for one not himself 
a Christian. 

"In 1821," he records, "my father died. All his 
warnings now rushed upon my mind like a flood; and 
with more vigor than ever, I set about self-reformation. 
My efforts proving unavailing, I gave myself up to the 
power of sin, restrained only by pride of character. ^ 

" Being left by my father's death more at my own dis- 
posal, I commenced the study of Latin with Ebenezer 
Sharpe, at Bourbon Academy. I read the usual course, 
and made some proficiency in Greek. In the spring of 
1824, I received a call to take charge of the mathemati- 
cal department in Centre College. This at first ap- 
peared to be a situation just adapted to my wishes." 

It is interesting to note that at so early an age as 
nineteen years old he was called to such a position. 

•* While at Danville, my brother Samuel, who was then 
at college, told me of his hope, that he h;id fled for 
refuge to the Lord Jesus, and had been accepted of him, 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. ii 

and of his intention of making a profession of religion 
the first opportunity. This very much affected me, and 
caused me to again seek reformation. I tried to get from 
under the power of sin, in order that I might witli more 
face apply to the Saviour for help ; for still my proud 
heart was unwilling to renounce everything, and to 
receive salvation without a price." 

Desiring to resume his studies with E. Sharpe, he re- 
turned to Paris, and continued six months more under 
his instruction. 

"Rev. John MacFarland," the pastor of the Presbyte- 
rian Church of Paris, "about this time delivered a course 
of lectures on the Holy Spirit. In the course of these 
lectures I saw plainly that if ever I was saved it must 
be by sovereign grace. I saw that I had sinned against 
a holy God, and was filthy in his sight. Utterly despair- 
ing of help in myself, and being convinced that there 
was plenteous redemption in Christ, I endeavored to 
cast myself on his mercy. I abhorred myself on account 
of sin, and the truth that the 'blood of Christ cleans- 
eth from all sin' was very precious to me. I recognized 
God as my Father, reconciled through his dear Son. I 
delighted to pour out my soul in secret to him, though 
often a sense of m\' un worthiness was such as to make 
me doubt whether God would regard me with mercy. 
Yet the reflection that Christ was my righteousness 
would revive my confidence." 

About this time, the 1st of January, 1825, he drew up 
a form of dedication of himself to God, which, thougli 
almost too sacred for publication, is here given, for the 
light it throws on his subsequent character and life. 

"Having for some time desired to commit to writing 
the dedication of myself to God, I shall now endeavor 



12 MEMOIR OF 

to do it acceptably through his grace abounding in Christ 
Jesus. 

"Lord God, who alone art Jehovah, grant through the 
mercies of thy well-beloved Son, to pour out thy Holy 
Spirit upon me, that I may proceed in dedicating my- 
self to thee in an acceptable manner. 

"I am a rebellious sinner, by nature alienated from 
thee. My heart is a sink of corruption, diseased with 
the leprosy and corroding ulcers of sin; it verily merits 
thy holy indignation and hatred. But thanks and praise 
to thy holy name, although I am thus vile and filthy, 
there is a fountain opened in the house of David for sin 
and unclean ness. Jesus Christ has suffered in the room 
and stead of sinners, he has borne the sins of a rebellious 
world in his own body on the cross, and now gives the 
assurance of a God, that all who come believing on him, 
shall be saved. 

" O God, I would plead thy promises, made to thy 
church and its offspring. I have been given to thee in 
baptism, and thou hast promised to ratify in Heaven 
whatever is done in thy name on earth. Give me, O 
God, the blessings of thy Holy Spirit, signified by this 
ordinance. Thou hast promised to be a Father to such 
as fear thy name, and to their children. Oh, give me the 
spirit of adoption, that I may really recognize thee as 
my Father, Enable me, when pleading these promises, 
really to believe that thou art a faithful and performing 
God. 

" Now, Jehovah, I give myself to thee, body and soul, 
and all that thou hast given me. I place all in thy 
hands, as in the hands of a faithful Creator. Help me 
ever to act for thee, not for myself. 

'T would take thee for my Father, my Saviour, my 
Sanctifier. Oh, enable me in deed and truth to say, I am 
thine and thou art mine. O Lord, wilt thou ratify this 
dedication. Father, accept me, as thou regardest the 
death and sufferings of thy dear Son. I trust in his all- 
prevailing name. 

" Let all that is in Heaven and earth praise the Lord; 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 13 

for his mercy endureth forever. O my soul, bless his 
holy name. And to God the Father, God the Son, and 
God the Holy Ghost, the only wise God, be honor, and 
glory, and power, and dominion forever. Amen. 

"Give me humility, whilst I subscribe my worthless 
name, Wm. P. Alexander. 

^^ July 6y 1826. — This day, O Lord God, help me re- 
newedly to dedicate myself to thee ; and mourning over 
my past failures, I would beg thy sustaining power, to 
preserve me from backsliding from thee. w. P. A. 

^' Princeion^ N.J.,Jan /, iSzg. — Four years have passed 
since I wrote this dedication ; but I have here in form 
given myself to God, and in reality have served myself. 
O Father, who hast borne with me, forgive my hateful 
departures from thee, and through Jesus Christ, my Sav- 
iour, enable me henceforth to live for thee. 

"W. P. Alexander." 

The experience described by this dedication was 
pivotal in his life. It determined his subsequent char- 
acter and career. It naturally resulted from it that he 
united with the church, that he entered a theological 
seminary to study for the ministry, that he consecrated 
himself to the cause of foreign missions, and that he 
performed all the labors, and achieved all the success, of 
his missionary career. 

The diary continues to great length, with records of 
events, and touching accounts of religious experience, a 
{^w quotations from which will suffice for illustrating 
his religious growth. After mentioning the fact of his 
joining the Presbyterian Church of Paris, the Sabbath 
after writing his dedication, he writes: — 

"For one or two months I enjoyed much of God's 
presence; but I soon found the life of a Christian was a 
warfare; fori soon had to pas through many severe 
spiritual conflicts, but never was so far overcome that I 



14 MEMOIR OF 

doubted the sufficiency of my Saviour. Yet he was con- 
tinually with me, doing me good. 

"The summer of 1825 I taught school on Cooper's 
Run, five miles from Paris, to raise money to go to col- 
lege. ... In November I went to Maysville, to 
assist J. T. Edgar in teaching school. . . . In the 
fall of 1826 I went to Centre College to complete my 
education. (God had recently poured out his spirit there 
in a remarkable manner, and was pleased to revive me 
in some measure. ... I lived along at Dan- 
ville, sometimes engaged in the battle, sometimes yield- 
ing the conflict; and I certainly would have forever wan- 
dered from God, but in great mercy he would not let 
me go, but drew me with cords of loving- kindness, and 
showed me that my help was still in him.) 

"In November, 1827, I joined a theological class, to 
study Hebrew and the Greek Testament, etc. In De- 
cember, and subsequently through the winter, the Lord 
in a remarkable manner visited his church in Paris, as 
he had visited many other churches in the State. Dur- 
ing this time my soul was somewhat refreshed, and I 
sometimes was able to plead with God for sinners, and 
to praise him for his wonderful works. In April (twenty- 
two years of age) I was chosen an elder in the church, 
and in May I was ordained." 

Here are recorded strong expressions of regret that he 
did not accomplish more in the office of elder. 



CHAPTER II. 

THEOLOGICzVL EDUCATION AND MISSIONARY CONSECRA- 
TION. 

THE theological class which Mr. Alexander had 
joined was broken up in the latter part of July, 
1828, by the death of Mr. MacFarland. Mr. Alexander 
was now kindly assisted by his brother Thomas to take a 
course in Princeton Seminary. 

"I set out for Princeton," he says, '=the 6th of Octo- 
ber, 1828, accompanied by Brethren McRoberts and 
Lilly, and Mrs. MacFarland. I reached Princeton the 
1st of November, and blessed God for bringing mc 
hither. Even within these consecrated walls I found 
a proneness to forget God, a proneness to let social 
prayer suffice for secret, especially as I found it dif- 
ficult to be alone. With Brother McRoberts, my dear 
chum, feeling the need of being at times alone with God, 
1 made arrangements, by which we have an opportunity 
for secret prayer three times a day. Since then I have 
reason to bless God. I have had more longings for holi- 
ness than heretofore. 

"About this time my attention was turned particu- 
larly to the perishing condition of the heathen ; and I 
have since endeavored to inquire of the Lord whether I 
might carry the gospel to some of them. I feel on the 
whole more desirous to go than to remain in the United 
States. It was my choice to go to Palestine; accord- 
ingly I commenced the study of Syriac." 



1 6 MEMOIR OF 

Among his papers are found copies of Syriac gram- 
mars, written by him at this time. 

"On the loth of January, 1829, I joined with Breth- 
ren McRoberts, Lindly, Condit, Granger, and Harri- 
son, in a covenant to spend every Saturday in fasting 
and prayer for growth in grace. We meet Saturday 
evenings, to recount God's deahngs with us during the 
preceding week, and to pray for growth in grace. I 
bless God for this association. I think my soul has 
been enriched by means of it, and hope yet to have 
many dehghtful seasons with these dear brethren." 

A voluminous diary follows of his religious experience 
day by day through this period of his life, from which 
his thoughts in regard to undertaking the foreign mis- 
sion enterprise are here quoted : — 

"Read a short history of the South Sea islanders, and 
cannot but be amazed at the transforming power of the 
gospel. That I may be permitted to carry it to some 
dark corner of the earth is my daily prayer. 
This evening I took a dismission from the ' South and 
West Society,' believing that, with my present views, I 
cannot conscientiously remain a member. For if the 
Lord will not shut up my way, I feel bound in spirit to 
carry the gospel to some of the millions in pagan dark- 
ness. O Father, be my guide. 

" April 6y i82g. — For several days past I have fre- 
quently inquired of the Lord whether I shall give my 
name to the American Board of Foreign Missions. I 
still hesitate in determining what is duty. O Lord, di- 
rect my steps, and help me to glorify thy name. . 

''April 8, 182^. — This evening in conversation with 
Mr. Evarts, Secretary of the American Board, I felt 
aroused on the subject of missions, and inclined to hope 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. i; 

that I would be allowed to serve God on heathen 
ground. O Father, direct me, as though a voice 
behind me were saying, * This is the way, walk ye 
in it' . . . 

" April 9. — I bless the Lord, for he has been precious to 
my soul to-day ; and a consideration of his presence and 
love has kept me in a melting mood. I had another 
interview with Mr. Evarts to-day, told him all my 
feelings on the subject of missions, and promised to 
write to him soon. I trust the Lord will grant me the 
grace to preach the gospel among the heathen. O God, 
I am thine; guide me in the path of duty. . . . 

''June II, i82g. — This morning I received a most affec- 
tionate letter from my dear sister Ann. Oh, she is dear 
to my heart, and in the most tender way she weaves 
those ties which bind me to my native land; but I hope 
the ties which bind me to my blessed Saviour are 
stronger; and if he will bid me, and give me strength, I 
will sunder all filial and fraternal bonds, and go to the 
ends of the earth. O Lord, thou art my portion be 
thou my guide. . . . 

" November 11, i8jo. — A letter has come to hand from 
Jeremiah Evarts, informing me that I am appointed a 
missionary of the American Board. It produces very 
solemn reflections. Now unless God prevent by his 
providence, I am going to the heathen to spend my life 
in telling them of Jesus (a thing for which I have often 
prayed). It will be a trial to leave my friends and coun- 
try; but '[{ any man love father or mother more than 
me, he is not worthy of me.' I do love them, but I feel 
in my heart I can gladly bid them farewell. I may 
meet with sore trials on pagan ground ; the rude bar- 
barian may imbrue his hands in my blood; but no suf- 

2 



1 8 MEMOIR OF 

ferings of this life are worthy to be compared with the 
glory which is to be revealed. Furthermore, they get 
near the throne in glory 'who come out of great tribu- 
lation,' and 'their robes are washed and made white in 
the blood of the Lamb.' It is a privilege, it is an honor, 
to suffer for Christ; and I now feel as if I could count 
it all joy, to be found worthy to suffer for his sake. The 
sore trial after all lies deeper than this; it lies in my- 
self Oh, it is this load of sin, which I bear about me; I 
am so prone to wander from God. ... I trust in 
him, and seek him with my whole heart, and realize his 
blessing. . . . 

" April /f, i8ji. — Yesterday I was down at Millstone. 
Three of my Sabbath-school teachers are anxiously in- 
quiring the way to Jesus. I trust the Holy Spirit has 
commenced a good work in their souls. Conversed 
awhile with a colored scholar. ... I proceeded 
to explain to her how Jesus Christ came into the world, 
and suffered and died in the place of sinners. This was 
a doctrine entirely new to her. She wept profusely as I 
explained it to her. ... I felt as though I were ex- 
plaining the way of salvation to a poor heathen. I hope 
it will prove life to her soul. . . 

'' Augtist 2, i8ji. — To-day I have been examined by 
the Presbytery of New Brunswick on theology, church 
history, church government, the sacraments, and He- 
brew, and have been licensed to preach the gospel of 
Christ. High and holy calling! An angel might seek 
it, and an angel might tremble in view of its responsi- 
bilities ! How unworthy and unfit am I for the work ! 
Much heavenly wisdom is needed. Oh, grant it, Lord, 
that thy Son may be glorified and sinners rescued from 
perdition. But how little do I know of the love of 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 19 

Christ! How poorly qualified am I to direct souls unto 
him! I will look to him for grace and strength, and, using 
all diligence, will trust in him, that he will keep me from 
disgracing the holy office. Gracious Redeemer, I would 
now covenant anew to be thine. Oh, make me wise to 
win souls to thee; and if thou dost grant me the grace 
to preach among the heathen thine unsearchable riches, 
oh, may I be faithful unto death. Oh, guide my feet, 
uphold my goings, and deliver me from sin. Grant me 
the anointing of the Holy Spirit for thy mercy's sake. 
Amen. 

''August 7, i8j;i. — Yesterday I received a letter from 
Rev. R. Anderson, informing me that Brother Arm- 
strong and myself are designated for the mission in the 
Pacific. To this field my heart inclined me, and I trust 
it has been of the Holy Spirit. I rejoice in the prospect 
of starting to the field next November. I rejoice that I 
may so soon have the high privilege of telling poor dy- 
ing heathen of Jesus Christ. I rejoice in having my dear 
Brother Armstrong for my companion. Bless the Lord, 
O my soul, for he has dealt bountifully with thee. I 
would have been glad to have enjoyed the company of 
Brethren Forbes, Thomson, and Boggs. Perhaps 
Forbes may yet go with us. The Lord direct, and to 
his will I wish to say from the heart, Amen. . . . 

"I was ordained by the Presbytery of Cincinnati, Octo- 
ber 12, 1 83 1, at the same time with Rev. \V. O. Thom- 
son" (who wrote "The Land and the Book"). 

The following accounts of the action of that Presby- 
tery are found among his papers. 

" Extracts from the minutes of the Presbytery of Cin- 
cinnati, October 12, 1 83 1. 

"Presbytery satisfied with the examination of both 



20 MEMOIR OF 

the candidates for ordination, agreed to ordain them this 
evening, the exercises to commence at seven o'clock. 
At which time Rev. John Thomson preached the ser- 
mon, and the Rev. James Gallaher presided, and gave 
the charge. And William P. Alexander and William 
M. Thomson were, according to the rules of our church 
government, solemnly ordained to the holy ministry, as 
evangelists, appointed to foreign missions, by prayer 
and the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery. And 
the Stated Clerk was directed to furnish the newly or- 
dained evangelists with the necessary testimonials. 

"A true copy, John Thomson, Stated Clerk of the 
Presbytery of Cincinnati. 

"This is to certify, that the bearer, the Rev. Wm. P. 
Alexander, who is appointed by the American Board of 
Commissioners for Foreign Missions, a missionary to 
the Sandwich Islands, is a member of the Presbytery of 
Cincinnati in good standing; and being about to set out 
for his field of labor, he is hereby affectionately recom- 
mended to the Christian sympathies and fellowship of 
his missionary brethren, or any other people of God, 
among whom he may travel or sojourn. Certified at 
Cincinnati in the State of Ohio, on the 13th day of Oc- 
tober, A. D. 1 83 1, and signed on behalf, and by order 
of, said Presbytery. By John Thomson, Stated Clerk of 
the Presbytery of Cincinnati." 

During visits with Rev. Wm. Dewitt, D. D., at Harris- 
burg, Pa., on his journeys to and from Princeton, Mr. 
Alexander made the acquaintance of Miss Mary Ann 
McKinney, whom he first met while she was engaged in 
city mission work, and to whom he was married, at Har- 
risburg, October 25, 183 1. 



CHAPTER III. 

VOYAGE TO THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 

["For his name's sake they went forth." 3 John 7.] 

THE fourth re-inforcemcnt of missionaries for the Ha- 
waiian Islands met in Boston, previous to embark- 
incf, to receive instructions from the Pi udential Commit- 
tee of the American Board. On this occasion Dr. Ander- 
son asked Messrs. Alexander and Armstrong and their 
wives whether they would be willing to undertake a new 
mission to the Marquesas Islands, provided arrangements 
could be made for it with the London Mission Society. 
They assented. Thiis re-inforcement consisted of nine- 
teen persons. They were: Rev. Messrs. Alexander, Arm- 
strong, Lyman, Emerson, Forbes, Hitchcock, Lyons, 
Spaulding, and their wives, Dr. Chapin and his wife, and 
Mr. Rogers, a printer. They embarked at New Bedford, 
November 26, 1831, on the ship ^iT'^/vr/^, Captain Swain. 
A journal of Mr. Alexander's and reminiscences, written 
by his wife and others, disclose to us many pictures of 
their voyage. We quote as follows: — 

''At sea, on board ship Averick, Monday evening, 
November 2S, iSji. — Day before yesterday, Saturday, 
November 26, we cmbaiked at New Bedford, Mass. 
The wharf was crowded with friends, who assembled to 
bid us adieu. They united with us in singing, ' Blest be 
the tic that binds our hearts in mutual love,' after w^hich 
Mr. Green, Assistant Secretary of the Board, led in 

(21) 



22 MEMOIR OF 

prayer. As the sloop, bearing us to the ship, left the 
shore, \vc sang, 'Shall we whose souls are lighted,' etc., — 
words which seemed to have a new meaning, sung by so 
large a company, bound on such an errand. 
Our first business on board was putting our state-rooms 
in order, and preparing for seasickness, which we did 
none too soon. Mrs. Hitchcock was the first sick; all the 
rest soon followed her example. I was not much sick 
till bed-time." 

Some of the other passengers have recorded their 
view, that it was a mistake for so large a company to 
have been sent on a vessel with the inadequate accom- 
modations of this. Four berths in the cabin, suitable 
for single persons, had to be used as double beds, and 
the rest of the passengers were stowed away in tempo- 
rary berths on the sides of the after cabin, a dark and 
dismal place, crowded with boxes, casks, and kegs, in 
utter confusion. 

"Before retiring for the night. Brother Emerson asked 
permission of the captain to have prayers in the cabin, 
to which he gave his hearty approbation. I read the 
1 2 1st psalm, 'I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, etc.,' 
and we sang one verse of the hymn, ' Guide me, O thou 
great Jehovah,' after which I made a short prayer. The 
captain attended. 

"During the night a severe gale of wind arose, and 
made us all very sick. Sabbath morning none of us 
were well enough to attend prayers. The captain showed 
great kindness in every particular. He seemed to watch 
for opportunities to confer favors. . . . Sabbath 
night the gale was still more violent; the sea broke over 
the deck, and swept away some chickens and provisions, 
given us by friends. This morning I hastened to the 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 23 

deck. The sea ran very high. All the sails were furled. 
The fresh air restored me. In the midst of our seasick- 
ness we have many things for which we ought to be 
thankful, the kindness of the captain and other officers, 
and particularly of the steward and cook, the comforts 
of our large state-room, and the fact that I have not been 
so sick but that I could attend to the wants of my dear 
wife. Here in the wide Atlantic I erect my Ebenezer 
hitherto the Lord hath helped me. 

'^ November JO. — Yesterday we had so violent a storm 
that I could not write. At one time it seemed as if 
everything in the cabin would be broken to pieces. The 
rope which turns the helm broke, and the swell broke 
heavily over the ship." 

In this storm the casks and boxes broke loose in the 
cabin, making confusion worse confounded. Such inci- 
dents occurred as gentlemen setting a foot into a keg of 
sugar, and into a firkin of butter. 

" I stood on deck an hour. The wind blew fiercely, 
with rain, hail, and snow. All the sails were furled; our 
cooking furnace was broken to pieces; the noise in the 
rigging was so great that speaking trumpets were used 
to make communications from one part of the deck to 
another. Most of our missionary company were dread- 
fully sick. The external seemed lo cause internal com- 
motion. I believe I was the only one who had entirely 
recovered from seasickness. The vessel still groans so 
much at every lurch that Dr. Chapin wishes it had more 
oil in its joints, to keep it quiet. 

" Wednesday evening. — The storm has so much 
abated that we have the sails spread again, the trunks 
arranged and lashed in the cabin, so that we sit around 
the table with comparative quiet and decency. . . . 



24 MEMOIR OF 

" December i. — This morning, when I went on deck, I 
found a number of ladies taking the fresh air. One of 
them, Mrs. Lyons, fainted, and after she had been 
revived, through Dr. Chapin's ministrations, I carried her 
down into the cabin. 

^^ December 2. — Mary A., who had been sick several 
days after seasickness, was able for the first time to come 
on deck. . . . This evening we agreed to have 
family prayers at 7 A. M. and 7 P. M., that we preside at 
prayers and at the table alphabetically a week at a time, 
and in retrograde order preach on the Sabbath at 
ten A. M. . . . 

'^ December J. — The weather is becoming more pleas- 
ant; the sun has burst through the long-intercepting 
clouds; the fierce wind has fallen to a pleasant breeze; 
our noble ship moves majes ically at eight miles an hour. 
The evening was so favorable that for the first time we 
had prayers on deck; we sang half an hour, the rolling 
ocean dashing against the ship, making an impressive 
accompaniment. ... 

" On the swelling Atlantic. The weather is still de- 
lightful. ... At 5 o'clock A. M. one of our number 
announces that it is time to rise. At 7 o'clock, morning 
and evening, when the watch-bell strikes, we assemble 
on the quarter deck, read a portion of Scripture, sing, 
and unite in prayer. At these times, when the sun first 
tinges the Eastern horizon, or when night has begun to 
spread her dark mantle over the waters, the exercises 
are very delightful. . . . The ladies begin to fly 
about like birds in the spring. . . To-day, with 

much ado, they made U3 a pudding for dinner, and a pic 
for supper. 

''' December (^. — Unwell, had a severe chill, , , , , 



REV. IVM. P. ALEXANDER, 25 

^'' December 22. — Since the last date I have been too 
sick to write; and now I write on my bed. I have suf- 
fered what the doctor calls an attack of intermittent 
fever. . . . Being within ten degrees of the equator, 
and in a close state-room, a burning fever was peculiarly- 
trying. Alleviations: A most kind, attentive wife, always 
at my side; good steward; kind captain, who had a pas- 
sage for air cut in my room and also air-sails let down 
from the deck; and especially the consolations of the 
gospel. I have had more communion with God during 
this sickness than all the voyage besides. 

^' December 2g. — It has been a w^ek since I wrote. I 
have not felt able to write during that period. Several 
things of interest have occurred. Thursday evening 
last they caught a porpoise, from which one gallon of 
oil was extracted. Its meat was brought to our table 
four or five times. Most of the company relished it. 

" On Saturday, to our great satisfaction, a school of 
whales was discovered. We had been destitute of oil 
ever since the storm, and had used butter and lard 
instead for our lamps. Four boats were manned and 
sent off in pursuit of the whales. They caught two and 
brought them alongside. With long lances they cut 
them to pieces, taking off the blubber, which is from 
three to six inches thick, and the whole head, which is 
filled with choice sperm. During the process many 
sharks appeared. The captain struck his lance through 
the head of one, which was then brought on deck. 
Dr. Chapin took out its teeth; some of the brethren 
took part of the skin to use instead of sandpaper. . . , 
The blubber was cut into small pieces and thrown into a 
boiler, and tried out. . . . About forty barrels of 
oil were obtained from the two whaler. On Sabbath 



26 MEMOIR OF 

Captain Swain caught a mess of albicore. The brethren 
thought it right to eat what was set before them, asking 
no questions for conscience' sake. 

^'January p, i8j2. — The foremast has been discovered 
to be rotten, on which account it was resolved, last Sat- 
urday, that we go direct to Rio Janeiro, and there get a 
new mast. We will be detained in our voyage about 
two weeks, but we can get many things much needed for 
our comfort. 

" Had a long conversation with Captain Swain this 
afternoon. He is as amiable as the young man told of 
in the gospels, whom Jesus loved; yet he is oi a rather 
skeptical turn of mind. I trust that the Lord will yet 
open his eyes. We expect to see land to-morrow morn- 
ing. 

""^ January ij. — This morning, as soon as I awoke, I 
heard that land was in view. I came on deck and saw 
the joyful sight. The hills of Cape St. Thomas were 
well defined twenty miles distant. A fishing sloop 
being in view, and the wind having fallen to a dead calm, 
a boat was manned and dispatched to make several 
inquiries of her, and to obtain fruit. Three of our com- 
pany, Brethren Emerson, Rogers, and Chapin, went in 
the boat. The vessel was five miles distant. After 
hard rowing, they returned with some bananas and 
plantains. None of the former were ripe ; such of the 
latter as were ripe were to me very unpalatable. They 
also brought with them a number of fish, rockfish, cod- 
fish, fire-eater, and skup. We are now expecting a fine 
dinner. 

" Saturday, January i^. — The whole forenoon was 
spent admiring and sketching South American scenery. 
We were coasting north of Cape Frio. The view of the 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 27 

high ridges of land, on three of which Hnes of white 
rocks extended, with singular effect, to the summits, 
was truly grand. Soon after we passed within five miles 
of an island, on which, with a spy-glass, we could dis- 
tinctly see trees. The surf raging against the whole 
extent of the coast was very picturesque. After seeing 
nothing but ocean for seven weeks, the sight of land is 
very delightful. 

^^ Harbor of Rio de Janeiro, January 16. — Yesterday 
morning, passing high mountains and hills wildly piled 
together on either side, we entered this delightful harbor. 
The rude magnificence of the lofty peaks, covered with 
tropical vegetation, beggars description. . . . To-day 
Dr. Chapin and Brother Armstrong went ashore, and 
ascertained that we could TiOt get board for less than 
$8.00 per week; we therefore expect to live on board the 
ship while here. 

''January 18. — Yesterday our whole company went 
on shore and explored the city of Rio de Janeiro. . . . 
We were much impressed with the degradation of the 
slaves. The city is said to have one hundred and fifty 
thousand inhabitants, one hundred thousand of whom 
are slaves. Every street swarms with droves of them, 
two-thirds naked, carrying burdens on their heads, or 
pulling heavy drays, driven in companies, bound together 
with chains, the links of which are half an inch in 
diameter, and eight inches long, and which pass around 
their necks. They were usually yelling a sort of song, 
to keep step. Military officers arc seen at every turn. 
On almost everything is inscribed the mark of the 
Roman beast. 

"At the street corners and in the markets are abund- 
ance of tropical fruits, bananas, plantains, oranges, 



28 MEMOIR OF 

limes, cocoanuts, melons, peaches, etc., with confection- 
ery. The Portuguese ladies are kept secluded, by the 
jealousy of their husbands. When they go abroad they 
ride in palanquins^ or close carriages. For this reason 
the nine ladies in our company were observ^ed with 
much curiosity. While I was engaged in shopping, 
Mary A. and others of our company took a delightful 
ramble to the top of a high hill. We dined at the 
tavern of Mrs. Johnstone. We then visited a garden, 
where we saw bread-fruit, coffee, lemons, oranges, plan- 
tains, etc., growing in their native luxuriance. At six 
o'clock we returned to the ship, fatigued, but gratified 
with our visit. 

" This morning I again visited the city. With Breth- 
ren Armstrong and Rogers I ascended the hill, five hun- 
dred feet high, on which the telegraph signal is placed, 
from which we had a fine view of the city of tile-cov- 
ered houses. We visited the Convent of St. Antonio, in 
the garden of which is a cistern oi holy water, that was 
foul and stagnant. We were taken into several rooms, 
ornamented with carved and gilt representations of 
saints and angels, splendid monuments of superstition 
and folly. . . . Saturday we visited the museum. 
It excels in ornithology, mineralogy, and specimens of 
insects, and contains fifty Egyptain mummies. . . . 
Sabbath, escorted by four captains in their respective 
boats, and one Portuguese boat sent by Mr. Kerr, of 
Botofogo, we went to the Tuscaloosa^ Captain Chase, of 
Baltimore, where the Bethel flag was waving. I 
preached to a most interesting audience. Our observa- 
tion of the city greatly impresses us with the fact that 
it is missionary ground. The people are ignorant, su- 
perstitious, and vile. Oh ! when shall the true light of 
the gospel prevail here? 



REV. JVM. P. ALEXANDER. 29 

^'Saturday, Eebiiiaiy 11. — Last Saturday, the 4th 
inst., we resumed our voyage. The numerous formah- 
ties through which Captain Swain was obliged to pass 
before he was allowed to sail, were very vexatious. All 
things were supposed to be in readiness on the Friday 
previous, and we hoisted sail early, but were soon visited 
by an officer of Government and informed that we 
could not proceed till each of the passengers had 
obtained passports. With a fine breeze we glided out 
of the harbor delightfully. A few of the company 
became seasick. 

" February /j. — Multitudes of Mother Carey's chickens, 
haylets, and albatrosses around us. Brother Spaulding 
caught an albatross, which measured nine feet from tip 
to tip of the wings — a beautiful bird. The circumstances 
of its capture were written on a thin board, fastened to 
its neck, and it was then set at liberty. 

". . . .A violent storm! We cannot sit at table 
without holding on. . . . 

" February 20. — The sea rougher than before since we 
started. The water broke in under the dead-lights, and 
into our berth, soaking through both mattresses. 

" March 2. — Yesterday we overtook a vessel, which 
we had seen ahead more than a week, and passed her in 
speaking distance, the Friendship, of Fairhaven, eighty- 
two days at sea, bound on a whaling expedition. . . . 

'"False as the smooth, deceitful sea.' Yesterday 
morning the ocean was as smooth as a lake, and when 
we retired last night all was quiet, the vessel almost 
motionless, but before midnight the fiercest storm we 
have yet witnessed arose. The vessel labored hard over 
the mountain waves, her timbers groaning, and her 
whole frame trembling, and the cabin was thrown into 



30 MEMOIR OF 

great confusion. . . . But tossed and rolling thus 
how sweet to feel that Jehovah is our God and refuge. 

"This morning a heavy shower of rain and hail fell 
and the air was very cold. We set up a stove, but were 
almost suffocated by the smoke, and took it down. This 
afternoon the storm is abating. 

*' March </. — This morning going on deck at 5 o'clock, 
I heard the cry of, "Land-ho." It was the rough heights 
of Terra del Fuego, forty miles distant. Soon after we 
came in sight of Staten Island, more rugged than the 
former, its mountain-tops covered with snow, though it 
is now here the month of autumn, the thermometer at 
42 degrees Fahr. 

''''March 6. — This morning it snowed rapidly; now the 
deck rattles with rain and hail. 

" March 8. — We have three studding-sails set, an un- 
usual thing off Cape Horn. On Tuesday night last an 
incident occurred which we all greatly regret. The 
captain's chronometer stopped. We must henceforth 
find our longitude by our watches, and by lunar obser- 
vations. 

'''March 12. — Yesterday we entered the Pacific; Brother 
Forbes preached in the cabin. I met a number of sailors, 
and read with them the first part of the sixth chapter of 
Matthew, and conversed freely with them. Most of them 
are Universalists. . . . The Spirit of God can make 
even these hardy sailors new creatures. 

"To-day the FiHendship sent a boat to our ship for oil. 
It was interesting, on the trackless waters of the great 
Southern ocean, for Brethren Emerson and Spaulding to 
meet, as they did, an old acquaintance, a pious man, in 
this boat. 

''March p. — Strong winds and high sea; everything 



REV. \VM. P. ALEXANDER. 31 

not made fast fetching away; Mary A. again seasick 
and distressed with toothache. The vessel rocks too 
violently for me to write more. 

"March 20. — We now move like a race horse, nine and 
a half miles per hour. . . . Mary A. collected cour- 
age enough to take a seat at the lee side of the ship, 
while Dr. Chapin applied cold steel to the tooth which 
troubled her yesterday. Brother Armstrong held the 
light, and in a few moments the important work was 
done. . . . 

''March 26. — I begin to realize that I am far from the 
land of my birth. Having traversed more than 9,000 
miles on the mighty deep, I find myself smoothly glid- 
ing over the waters of the Pacific. But though friends 
are distant, God is near; his love and protection unceas- 
ingly hover over us. Those in our company who have 
been brought low with sickness begin to recover, — Sisters 
Spaulding, Emerson, and Chapin. The weather is almost 
enchanting, thermometer at 60 degrees Fahr. . 
Yesterday I preached in the cabin, from Romans i : 16: 
'I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.' In the eve- 
ning we had conference on the best method to fasten 
truth on the mind of a Universalist. The captain seemed 
affected by the remarks. If it were not for brandy I 
would have some hopes for him. 

'' MarcJi 2g. — Just before dinner the unexpected cry of 
* Land-ho' was heard on deck, and repeated in the cabin. 
It was ascertained that Massa Fuero, a high island, un- 
inhabited, except by a few fishermen who visit it occa- 
sionally to catch seals, was thirty miles distant. We are 
now steering for Juan Fernandez, the famous residence 
of Alexander Selkirk, alias Robinson Crusoe, on which 
we hope to place our feet to-morrow morning. With 



32 MEMOIR OF 

the known longitude of Massa Fuero, we have coiTected 
our watches for Greenwich time. 

'' March JO. — Owing to the darkness last night we lay 
to, not willing to risk the danger of running ashore. The 
land is five miles distant, very bold and rugged. At 
daybreak we descried a ship, and within an hour came 
within speaking distance, and found her to be the Friend- 
skip, which we had seen off Cape Horn. 

*'. . . Monday, April 2. — Last Saturday I returned 
to the ship from a visit to the fairy isle of Juan Fernan- 
dez, so fatigued that I could not write notes of my jaunt. 
An hour and a half before dawn a boat was lowered, in 
which Captain Swain and Brother Spaulding and Dr. 
Chapin went ashore. At eleven A. M. the boat returned 
for some articles for trading. In this and another boat 
all the remaining gentlemen of our company went 
ashore. We had a long pull of seven miles. As we ap- 
proached the shore, the scenery of the lofty hills, two 
thousand feet high, was wild and picturesque. The hills 
are composed of trap, greenstone, and basalt, in every 
stage of decomposition. We landed in a little village, 
the seat of the empire, consisting of twenty-five thatched 
houses covered with bamboo canes, and thirteen caves. 
A company of human beings, seeming half savage, met 
us, and eyed us with much curiosity. At length an 
Englishman, Thomas, who is employed here forcatching 
seals, asked whether we wished to see Captain Swain, 
and informed us that we would find him upstairs in 'the 
big house,' to which we accordingly repaired. A man 
genteelly dressed met us at the door, who we afterwards 
learned was a convict, sent from Chili, for treason. 
With his guidance we ascended the stairs, with baskets 
on our arms, which we had brought for gathering curiosi- 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 33 

ties, and were heartily welcomed by the governor, who 
informed us that he was king" of the island, that he was 
happy to see us, and that he would be very much grati- 
fied if we would bring our wives ashore, and remain 
with him several weeks. By invitation we dined with 
him on bread, butter, cheese, ham, fried eggs, and let- 
tuce. His majesty accompanied us to the caves, him- 
self leading the way into their dismal apartments. They 
are dug into the hill behind the village in two tiers, three 
in the lower and ten in the upper tier, and are one hun- 
dred and fifteen feet in length. In one of the upper cav- 
erns we found a blacksmith at work with rude sledges, 
anvil, and bellows and over his furnace a cross. In the 
far end of another we found a pulpit with a golden cross. 
This den, his majesty informed us, was 'tcntp/iun sacninil 
These caves are a penitentiary for convicts from Chili. 
I could not but be amusedat the ludicrous royalty which 
Josef Lacrier, the governor, displayed- He furnished us 
with a guide, who conducted us up a ravine, covered 
with brakes, spearmint, rue and balm, to the summit of 
a hill. Here Selkirk could have exclaimed, 'I am 
monarch of all I survey.' At about sunset we returned 
to the ship, taking small supplies of beans, potatoes, 
peaches, and a few fowls and eggs. Potatoes cost $4.00 
per bushel. There are three hundred and eighhty-six 
inhabitants on the island, of whom two are officers, forty- 
six soldiers, seventy-three females, wives of soldiers, one 
hundred and five convicts, and one hundred and sixty 

freemen, farmers This is trulv a romantic 

island. But, like Rio Janeiro, it is the seat of Satan. 

^^ April g. — For a number of days the trade-winds have 
borne us forward six or eight miles an hour, and yet so 

quietly that, seated in the cabin, we can scarcely per- 
3 



34 MEMOIR OF 

ceive that the ship is in motion. Two days ago we 
entered the Torrid Zone, in which all our company 
expect to lay their bones. Though my faith is weak 
and heart hard, I rejoice that I am drawing near the 
field of labor, and, oh, that I may prove faithful unto 
the end! 

" . . . . April I J. — The wind has blown so stead- 
ily for five or six days that the situation of no sail has 
been altered; the thermometer in the cabin at 'j^ Fahr.; 
the sick almost well; the well almost sick with heat ; many 
flying-fish seen; all the crew tarring the rigging. . . . 

" May 5. — Two days ago the northeast trades took us, 
and since that time we have been borne forward on the 
wings of the wind, eight or ten miles per hour, with fre- 
quent squalls of rain. . . . Writing-desks are in 
great requisition for preparing letters to send to America, 
after we land. . . . Tropical birds, perfectly white, 
with a single long feather for a tail, often flutter over the 
mast, uttering a hoarse note like that of a wild goose. 
. . . At a business meeting Brother Spaulding was 
appointed to write a letter to the Board, and I to write 
one expressing our thanks to the captain. 

" Tuesday, May 75. — Within two days' sail of Oahu, if 
our calculation of longitude is correct. I can hardly 
realize that I am so soon to be in the midst of heathen, 
amongst whom I am to spend my life. To-day I have 
been very busy setting things in order for landing. 
Last Sabbath Brother Emerson preached an excellent 
sermon from the text, ' Ho, everyone that thirsteth.' Yes- 
terday evening Brother Emerson, Spaulding and I went 
forward and conversed long with the seamen, relative to 
the temptations to which they will be exposed in enter- 
ing port, and persuaded most of them to sign a pledge 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 35 

to refrain from drunkenness and vice. Wc were aston- 
ished and delighted at our success, 

'* Wednesday, May 16. — This morning at ten o'clock 
the lofty heights of Maui appeared before us in distant 
splendor. Soon after Molokai was seen. We sailed 
along the whole length of Molokai within five to ten 
miles of the shore, when just betore us, w^e descried the 
lofty highlands of Oahu. Now at a distance of twenty 
miles from Oahu, the ship is ' hove to ' for the night. 
The Lord has greatly prospered us and blessed be his 
name. Oh, that entering on our labors in his strength, 
we may be made wise to win souls!" 



CHAPTER IV. 

ARRIVAL AT THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 

a TJONOLULU, Friday, May i8, /c?;^.— Yester- 
-^ ^ day morning at day-break I found the island, 
Oahu, but a few miles distant. With a favorable wind, 
we rounded Diamond He^d, and cast anchor in the 
outer harbor, before eight o'clock A. M. ' The town looked 
like a city of hay-stacks; only grass houses were to be 
seen; I believe there were one or two frame houses' 
Soon we were surrounded by natives in their canoes, 
bringing milk and eggs for sale, some of them altogether 
naked, except the malo. The scenes of Rio de Janeiro 
had prepared me in some measure for such a spectacle; 
still the appearance of the natives was shocking; at the 
first sight the ladies shrunk away, and hastened to the 
cabin. 

" Very soon we received a hearty welcome from 
Brethren Clark, Dibble, Green, Ruggles, and Whitney. 
They brought us some of the best water-melons I have 
ever tasted. At ten o'clock we came ashore. The 
wharf was covered with thousands of natives, whom 
curiosity and affection had brought to see us. Some of 
the ladies, who were ill, were conveyed to the house of 
Mr. Chamberlain, on a cart drawn by natives. Mrs. 
Emerson has related that ' the old mission wagon was in 
waiting at the beach, and Mrs. Armstrong and I entered 
it. We were drawn by a team of native men, pulling 
(36) 



REV. IVM. P. ALEXANDER. 37 

and pushing. This method of riding seemed so comical 
that I could not suppress a laugh, but looking about and 
seeing the grave faces of Messrs. Bingham and Whitney, 
I perceived that they saw nothing unusual, and con- 
cluded it was time to put on my customary sober face.' 
Those of us who walked were followed by crowds 
anxiously pressing before each other, to give us the cus- 
tomary salutation, * Aloha.' 

"All of us having assembled at the house of Mr. 
Chamberlain, together with all the old missionary 
brethren and sisters who were at this station, for the 
annual general meeting, Mr. Bingham read the gen- 
eral letter from the Board to the mission, after which we 
united in singing the hymn beginning, * Kindred and 
friends, for Christ's dear sake a hearty welcome you 
receive,' when we knelt together and Mr. Bingham led 
in offering thanksgiving and praise for our preservation 
during the voyage and safe arrival here. It was a truly 
affecting interview, a company composed of old soldiers 
who have borne the burden and heat of the day, and 
nineteen others wha are just buckling on the armor. 

" Immediately after the meeting, we were distributed 
among the various mission families who reside here. 
Mary A. and myself were comfortably lodged in an airy, 
commodious upper room of Mr. Chamberlain's house. 

*' Saturday, May /p. — We were introduced to the 
young king to-day (not yet king, for there was a regent). 
He received us very politely, welcomed us to the 
Hawaiian shores, acknowledged the great good the 
nation had received from missionary labors, and ex- 
pressed great pleasure at the increase of their numbers. 
A short address made to him in the name of the newly- 
arrived missionaries was interpreted to him by Brother 



38 MEMOIR OF 

Bingham." "Then accompanied by the king and his 
chiefs we walked to the house of Kaahumanu. the 
queen regent of the islands, formerly a favorite wife of 
Kamehameha I. She was occupying a large grass 
house partitioned into two rooms by a calico curtain. 
She sat in a large wooden arm-chair, attended by two 
maids of honor wielding kahilis. She was dressed in 
an unbleached cotton gown, and wore a wreath oi pan- 
danus fruit around her neck." (Mrs. Armstrong's 
sketches.) " She received us with tears of joy. She was 
very ill and unable to speak much; we therefore soon 
withdrew. 

" In consideration of the kindness of Captain Swain, 
I handed him to-day the following letter, which I had 
prepared at the request of the com.pany: — 

"Honolulu, May 17, 1832. 
" Capt. Edward Swain : When on the 26th of 
November, we saw the last wave of the hat on 
the shores of New Bedford, we felt emotions which 
none but friends can feel. An occasion is at hand 
adapted to excite similar emotions. Soon, dear sir, 
. we must bid you farewell; and we should do violence 
to our feelings did we not make some expression of 
gratitude for the many favors you have conferred upon 
us during a long and perilous voyage. Merely to say 
that you have always treated us with kindness and 
respect, would be doing you injustice. The watchful 
solicitude of a parent or brother has been the uniform 
characteristic of your conduct towards us. When the 
raging storm has thrown everything into confusion, your 
voice has quickly cheered us, your hand has restored 
order, and with watchful anxiety you have sought out 
and anticipated our wants. When we have been brought 
low with sickness, you have spared no effort which 
tender kindness could suggest, to make our situation 
pleasant. Whether in the storm or when the cheering 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER, 39 

breeze has borne us pleasantly along, whether at sea or 
in port, your amiable, frank, generous deportment to- 
wards us has been the same. It gives us pleasure to 
make these acknowledgments; and we trust the God 
whom we serve will abundantly reward you. 

'* Please present to the other officers our unfeigned 
thanks for the numerous acts of kindness they have 
conferred upon us. And should a few more days close 
our intercourse on earth, oh, sir, let us labor to become 
fellow-heirs of that rich inheritance laid up in Heaven 
for those who love God. The close of our voyage 
reminds us that the voyage of life will soon be over, and 
whatever amiability of character we may here possess, 
and however large a portion of social bliss we may here 
enjoy, we are sure that none will then be safe except those 
who have fled to the Lord Jesus for refuge. Let us 
therefore seek above all things to have Christ Jesus for 
our pilot, that we may make the same happy port. 
Wherever you go our affections shall follow you, and our 
prayer shall be, that He who neither slumbers nor sleeps, 
who has preserved us amid dangers, and given us a 
prosperous voyage, may still be with you, and make you 
a partaker of his great salvation. Then you will be able 
to say with the poet: — 

" * Tossed upon life's raging billow, 

Sweet it is, O Lord, to know 
Thou didst press a sailor's pillow, 

And canst feel a sailor's woe; 
Never slumbering, never sleeping, 

Though the night be dark and drear, 
Thou the faithful watch art keeping, 

"All, all's well," thy constant cheer.' 

"Most affectionately yours." 
It was signed by all the brethren and sisters of the 

company. 

*' Sabbath, May 20. — At half past nine A. M. attended 

native service; more than four thousand hearers. Mr. 

Bingham preached. The services were held in an im- 



40 MEMOIR OF 

mense thatched house. There was a box-Hke pulpit 
perched upon one side in the middle of the house, and a 
few rude benches on which the teachers and chiefs sat; 
nearly all the congregation sat upon the floor, which had 
been strewed with rushes for the purpose. At eleven 
A. M. I preached in English. 

'''June 5. — At four o'clock this morning Kaahumanu, 
the queen regent, died in the Valley of Manca, whither 
she had been carried a few days before with the hope 
that the coolness of the situation would benefit her 
health. In her the natives have lost a chief magistrate 
in whom they justly confided, and whom they ardently 
loved. The mission has lost a mother, a judicious 
counselor, and a firm, unshaken supporter; but Heaven 
has received a soul cleansed by the blood of Christ 
from the foulest stains of heathenism, infanticide, and 
abominable pollution. She was the first native convert 
on the island of Oahu." 



CHAPTER V. 

THE DEPUTATION TO THE ENGLISH MISSIONARIES AT 
THE SOCIETY ISLANDS. 

SOON after his arrival at Honolulu Mr Alexander 
was appointed to go with Messrs. Whitney and 
Tinker as a deputation from the Hawaiian Mission to 
the English Mission at the Society Islands. 

The object of this deputation, as explained by Mr. Alex- 
ander in a letter to Thos. T. Skillmann, of Lexington, 
Kentucky, was "to confer with the English missionaries of 
the Society and Georgian Islands in regard to the Marque- 
sas, and to form some plan of co-operation with them in 
sending the gospel to all the islands and shores of the 
Pacific, and also to learn from their experience in mis- 
sionary labor among Polynesian tribes whatever might 
be useful to others laboring in a similar field. The dep- 
utation was also to visit the Marquesas Islands, and if 
no obstacle existed, to take such preliminary steps 
towards establishing a mission among them as they 
should judge expedient. Rev. C. S. Stewart had visited 
the Northern Marquesas in July, 1829, in the U. S. 
Viftcennes, and arrived in America in the summer of 
1830. The deep interest he felt, and the exertions he 
made, decided the American Board to commence a mis- 
sion there as soon as possible." 

They sailed from Honolulu July 18, 1832, on the 
schooner Missionary Packet, which had been chartered 

(41) 



42 MEMOIR OF 

for the expedition. They were accompanied by Tute, a 
teacher from Huahine, who had been taken to Oahu by 
Mr. Ellis in 1823. 

LETTER OF INTRODUCTION GIVEN TO THE DEPUTATION TO THE 

SOCIETY ISLANDS. 

"Sandwich Islands, July 18, 1832. 

** Dear Brethren: By the ' living epistles,' which in the good provi- 
dence of God we are allowed to send you as our beloved fellow-laborers, 
you will receive the salutations of all your brethren at the Sandwich 
Islands, and be made acquainted with our state. 

" You will permit us, therefore, to introduce to your acquaintance and 
to your Christian fellowship, our brethren, the Rev. Messrs. Whitney, 
Tinker and Alexander, members of our mission, who, in compliance with 
your polite invitation and our own long-cherished wishes, have been duly 
appointed to visit your stations at the Society and Georgian Islands, and 
to confer with you on the state of the islands in the Pacific, and on the 
methods most advisable for extending the kingdom of our glorious Re- 
deemer throughout all the isles and shores of this vast ocean. 

" In view of the wisdom, zeal and success with which you have so long 
engaged in the missionary work, your extensive acquaintance with Polyne- 
sian tribes and Polynesian character, and the means of winning them to 
the cause of Christ, and the freedom, candor and friendship which have 
hitherto marked, and which, we trust, will continue to mark, the commu- 
nications between you and us, we expect to derive great benefit from the 
results of your experience and observation, communicated freely to our 
deputation, and from such information as you will be able to give, and such 
views, opinions and considerations as you will be able to present, individ- 
ually or collectively, on any and every part of the great subject for which, 
at considerable expense and sacrifice, this expedition has been undertaken. 

** Every favor will be thankfully acknowledged by your brethren and 
fellow-laborers in the service of our common Lord and Saviour, 
Jesus Christ. H. Bingham, 

" In behalf of the Mission." 

They reached the Society Islands August 22, and 
spent four weeks among them; during which time they 
visited Raiatea, Huahine, Tahiti and Eimeo. They were 
received with the utmost cordiality by the English mis- 
sionaries, who gave them much valuable information and 
counsel. From a brief journal kept during the trip and 
letters to Mr. Skillmann the following extracts are 
taken: — 

^'August 2^, 1S32. — Early this morning we were 
boarded by a native pilot, and conducted into the harbor 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 43 

of Utumaoro, at the northeast point of Raiatea. Three 
green islets at the entrance to the harbor contribute 
much to the beauty of the scene. On one side was the 
island of Raiatea, completely covered with verdure, from 
the sea to the summits of the mountains, the hibiscus 
and other shrubs overhanging the salt water around the 
harbor, while on the north side, beyond a large lagoon, 
is the island of Tahaa, on which we could discern a 
chapel near the shore. We landed on a coral wharf, 
constructed by Rev. John Williams, and were soon met 
by Messrs. Williams, Piatt and Smith, and conducted to 
the mission house, where wc united in thanksgiving to 
God for the privilege of meeting under such circum- 
stances. . . . Before we landed we had been much 
struck with the dilapidated appearance of the houses, 
most of which seemed to be almost in ruins, of which 
wc now learned the cause. For twelve months past the 
people of this island and Tahaa have been engaged in 
war with those of Bolabola (northwest of Tahaa)." 

This war had been impending for ten years, and at 
last, in spite of the missionaries, it had burst forth, in- 
volving the inhabitants of three islands, and sadly 
injuring the churches by arraying the church-members 
against each other. " Out of many hundreds who had 
cheered the missionaries as Christian converts only a few 
could now be received to Christian fellowship. The final 
battle had been fought a short time before we arrived. 
The dilapidated houses and uninclosed gardens gave 
evidence of the fury of the strife. 

"We were glad, however, to find the rulers making 
vigorous efforts to restore order. The day before we 
arrived they had resolved to strike at the root of the 
intemperance, which had greatly increased during the 



44 MEMOIR OF 

war, by destroying all the distilleries. The work of 
destruction had advanced so far that all the largre distill- 
eries but one were lying in ruins, and that one they were 
pulling down when we arrived. They had also appointed 
persons to go around the island, and break all the stone 
pans which the people had made for the purpose of dis- 
tilling. 

''We had an interview with Tamatoa, the king, and 
his chiefs, Mr. Williams acting as interpreter. The pal- 
ace was a miserable hovel. The king and all his reti- 
nue, except one man, were dressed in native costume. 
The women wore bonnets, but tapa clothing. We 
presented an address to the king and chiefs, giving 
the salutation of the Hawaiian chiefs, and exhorting 
them to be steadfast in peace and firm in putting down 
intemperance. They promised to attend to our advice, 
and professed to rejoice in our arrival as a sick man does 
when he sees a good physician. 

"As Mr. Williams is about to make a tour among the 
out-stations in the Hervey and Samoan groups, it was 
judged expedient that he should accompany us imme- 
diately to Huahine, that we might consult with him and 
Mr. Barff together. 

"We accordingly weighed anchor at two o'clock P. M., 
and having a very favorable westerly wind, we found 
ourselves after three hours' sail in Fare Harbor, at the 
northwest corner of Huahine, twenty-two miles east of 
Raiatea, a most enchanting harbor. (See Ellis, Vol. 2, 
p. 249.) Immediately after landing we were accompa- 
nied by Mr. Williams to the chapel where Mr. Barff was 
conducting an afternoon service. About two hundred 
people were assembled. He paused on our entrance un- 
til we were introduced to him and to Mr. Buzacott, a 



REV. IVAL P. ALEXANDER. 45 

missionary from Rarotonga. He soon brought the serv- 
ices to a close, and we were animated with the pecul- 
iarly lively music with which the people sang the clos- 
ing hymn, to one of the old fuguing tunes. 

" The assembly presented a neat aspect, seated on 
benches. Each woman wore a neat bonnet of native 
manufacture, and a web of white tapa constituted the 
remaining part of her dress. The men had generally a 
shirt apiece, and in addition a 'purau' of native cloth or 
mat around the loins. 

" We then walked with the brethren to the residence 
of Mr. Barff, where we were very kindly received by his 
family. They occupied a whitewashed, framed house 
of seven rooms built of native timbers, and thatched 
with /au Jiala. The yard was full of sugar-cane, and con- 
tained twelve large bread-fruit trees, besides limes, coffee, 
etc. 

"The object of our visit was introduced, and we con- 
versed till after twelve o'clock. The brethren here at the 
leeward islands never interfere with the affairs of those 
at the windward, consequently they have nothing to say 
about the Marquesas Islands. 

'^ August 2^. — After dinner we went to the site of Mr. 
Ellis' house, and saw the orange and coffee trees which 
he planted. His residence was situated far up a most 
verdant valley watered by a delightful river. We saw 
many bread-fruit and cocoanut trees lying on the ground, 
which we learned were blown down by a gale last De- 
cember, which also demolished the school-house here and 
the church building at Raiatea. 

" Saturday, August 2^. — This is the Sabbath here, and 
we accordingly observed it as such. (N. B. — The En- 
glish missionaries, who had come by the way of the 



46 MEMOIR OF 

Cape of Good Hope, differed a day in reckoning from 
the Americans, who had come by the way of Cape 
Horn, so that their Sunday came on our Saturday.) At 
nine A. M. Mr. Williams preached to about four hundred 
hearers, more neatly dressed, as a whole, than congrega- 
tions at Honolulu, everyone having at least, a piece 
of clean white native cloth thrown around him. About 
a dozen men and two women were dressed in European 
clothing. Most of the women wore bonnets, and most 
of the men had shirts. 

"After this service Mr. Tinker preached in English at 
Mr. Barff's house from the text, ' Lord, remember me 
when thou comest into thy kingdom.' (This sermon is 
published in 'Life and Sermons of Reuben Tinker.') In 
the afternoon I attended Sabbath-school. 

". . . At half past three P. M. Mr. Whitney 
preached a sermon in Tahitian, which he had prepared, 
with Tute's help, during the voyage." 

'* The exercises of the Sabbath are: Prayer-meeting at 
sunrise, Sabbath-school immediately after breakfast, 
Preaching at half past nine A. M., Sabbath-school at 
two P. M., and Preaching again at three P. M. But when 
I speak of a Sabbath-school, you are very liable to mis- 
understand me, for you will at once think of a Sabbath- 
school in Lexington ; but they have little resemblance 
except in name, and in the fact that religious truth is 
communicated in both. To have a just notion of a 
Sabbath-school in the South Seas, 'you should be in-^ 
formed that during the week the children are assembled 
every morning at sunrise, when their teacher reads por- 
tions of Scripture and of the Catechism, which the chil- 
dren with one voice repeat after him till they have com- 
mitted it to memory. The amount thus learned con- 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 47 

stitutes the recitation for the Sabbath-school; in addi- 
tion to which the pastor asks the children some ques- 
tions, and gives them some appropriate instruction. 

''August 26. — Having a fair wind to go to Tahiti, at 
four P. M. we weighed anchor, being accompanied a little 
way by Messrs. Barff, Williams and Buzacott, who 
handed us a farewell letter. 

''August 2g. — Early in the morning a native pilot 
boarded us, and conducted us into the delightful harbor 
of Papeete on the northwest side of Tahiti. We re- 
ceived a cordial welcome from Mr. Pritchard, who, with 
his amiable wife, soon made us feel at home. . . . 
In the afternoon we had a pleasant walk on the Queen's 
Highway, which extends almost entirely around the isl- 
and; it is often called the Sinners' Road, because it has 
been built by sinners as the reward for their iniquity. 
The part of it which we traversed is delightfully shaded 
by a forest of bread-fruit and widespreading vi trees. 

** After supper we conversed freely on various topics. 
In reference to the children of missionaries, Mr. Prit- 
chard stated that no subject gave them so much anxiety; 
that now no one dissented from the opinion that it is 
better for the children, in every point of view, to send 
them home to England ; better, too, for the mission, as 
they, if corrupted, would counteract the work of their 
parents. (It was observed that some of the English 
missionaries intrusted their children to native nurses, 
who took them away to their own homes in the morn- 
ing and brought them back at night. The consequence 
was that the children not only learned the native lan- 
guage before English, but also learned the vices of 
the natives. The report of the deputation on this sub- 
ject resulted in the salutary regulation that none of the 



48 MEMOIR OF 

children of the American missionaries should be allowed, 
while young, to speak the Hawaiian language.) 

'' August JO. — As next Tuesday will be the most con- 
venient day for the brethren to meet and confer with 
us, Mr. Pritchard has sent a request to each of them that 
they assemble at his station at that time. To improve 
the time we resolved to visit Messrs. Nott and Wilson 
to-day. At six A. M. we embarked in a large whale-boat, 
with Mr. Pritchard at the helm, for Matavai, some eight 
miles to the northeast. About eight o'clock we landed 
at Matavai, opposite Mr. Wilson's, who was one of the 
pioneers on the Duff. After breakfast we walked to Pt. 
Venus, w^here Captain Cook made his astronomical ob- 
servations in 1768, passing through a large orange grove 
planted by the first missionaries soon after they arrived, 
near the site of their first dwelling. . . . We returned 
to the church, a well-constructed framed building, in- 
closed by a stone wall. In the church-yard are a num- 
ber of graves, in one of which lies the wife of a Mr. 
Jones, a former missionary here. . . . We re-em- 
barked at two P. M., and stopped on the way to call on 
Mr. Henry Nott, one of the first missionaries, who ar- 
rived in 1797, but appears still hale and vigorous. He 
is revising the Tahitian Bible. . . . Walked across 
the point and visited the queen regent, and saw the 
royal mausoleum, situated in a grove of the spreading 
chestnut. Entered the boat again and came on to the 
residence of Mr. George Bicknell, nephew of a former 
missionary of that name, his house neat, and all about 
him comfortable. Arrived in Papeete before sunset. 

" September i. — Tahitian Sabbath. About one hun- 
dred and twenty people attended the prayer-meeting at 
sunrise. Tute conducted the services and made an 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 49 

address. ... At nine A. M. Mr. Pritchard preached to 
about three hundred natives. During the services an old 
woman in the gallery kept the young people in order by 
making a liberal use of a long rod. My attention was 
frequently called from the preacher by the sound of the 
blows she inflicted. . . . The Lord's Supper was 
afterwards administered to about a hundred, in which 
ordinance bread-fruit was used instead of bread, and the 
wine was mingled with cocoanut milk, sweetened with 
molasses. At eleven o'clock Mr. Tinker preached in En- 
glish from the text, ' If the Lord be God, serve him; if 
Baal, serve him,' to about twenty hearers. At half past 
three Mr. Whitney preached his Tahitian sermon. After 
supper the ' Utica Letter on Revivals ' was read by Mr. 
Tinker. 

" September j. — This morning Mr. Armitage arrived 
here from the island of Eimeo, or Moorea, bringing us a 
letter from Mr. Simpson, Principal of the South Sea 
Academy, in whicli he cordially welcomes us, and bids 
us go forward and occupy the Marquesas. Mr. Armitage 
was sent out in 1821 to instruct the natives in spinning 
and weaving cotton. (See Ellis, Vol. 2, page 296.) 
About nine A. M. Mr. Darling, who came out in 18 17, ar- 
rived from Burder's Point, or Punaauia, on the west side 
of the island. (He had recently visited the Marquesas 
Islands, and made a report on them.) At two P. M. we 
met in the school-house. Mr. Nott was chosen Mod- 
erator, and the meeting opened with prayer by Mr. 
Davies. We then stated the various steps which the 
A. B. C. F. M. had taken in reference to the Marquesas 
Islands, and the fact that four missionary families were 
now at hand ready to carry the gospel thither, provided 
no obstacle existed. They, on the other hand, stated 



50 MEMOIR OF 

the various measures which the London Missionary 
Society had taken to plant the gospel in that field since 
1797; that the state of the people having recently worn 
a more pleasing aspect, they had requested the London 
Missionary Society to send six missionaries to labor in 
those islands, and that a mission there could be very con- 
veniently sustained from the Georgian Islands, which 
were comparatively near. The conversation, which 
lasted several hours, was very frank and open, and a 
fraternal spirit prevailed. ... It was at length 
agreed, only one dissenting, that it is not probable that 
the six missionaries referred to will be sent out, because 
before the request from the Tahitian Mission could have 
arrived in London, the Directors of the London Mission- 
ary Society would have been informed that American 
missionaries were on their way to the Pacific, destined 
for the Marquesas Islands. At most, more than two 
cannot be expected. They therefore 

" ^Resolved, That our brethren be recommended to wait until we hear 
from England on the subject of the Marquesas mission; but, if this be 
impracticable, that they may be recommended to occupy one group of the 
islands, leaving the other for our missionaries, should any be sent for that 
field of labor; and further, in case none be sent, that they occupy the 
whole.' " 

We have only brief notes of a tour of the remaining 
mission stations in Tahiti, from which the following 
extracts are taken: — 

" September 5. — Arose early and started in a whale- 
boat about seven A. M., arriving at Burder's Point (or 
Puunauia in Atehuru) at nine A. M. Breakfasted with 
Mr. Darling and afterwards went through the fine new 
chapel, the printing office, etc. We re-embarked at 
eleven A. M. and were shown the place where the last 
battle with the heathen party was fought. Landed 



REV. VVM. P. ALEXANDER. 51 

again and walked along the Queen's Highway. A boy- 
got cocoanuts for us, and an old woman gave usfei 
bananas. We greatly enjoyed the scenery. 

*' In Papara we called upon the young queen and her 
retinue. Afterwards, followed by noisy, shouting boys 
and girls, we marched up to the residence of Rev. John 
Davies. Had a long conversation with him about native 
schools and teachers. Slept comfortably after walking 
eleven miles. 

" September 6. — Breakfasted at daylight and walked 
across a point two miles to meet the boat. Crossed 
several streams as yesterday, on the backs of men. 
Sailed on over coral forests. The hills more verdant 
than yesterday. When we came within four miles of 
Mr. Orsmond's station, in Taiarapu (the eastern penin- 
sula), the strong wind obliged us again to land and walk. 
We crossed an arm of the sea in a very small canoe. Were 
received by Brother Orsmond and his wife with much 
affection. Attended the Friday evening meeting, at 
which Mr. Pritchard examined the congregation on the 
sermon of last Sabbath, after which about eight arose 
one by one and delivered speeches, composed of Script- 
ure and as much of former sermons as they could remem- 
ber. The little children sang finely. 

''September J. — Mr. Orsmond conversed very freely 
about the character of his people, about their supersti- 
tions, and the late war at Raiatea. Mr. Orsmond had 
charge of the South Sea Academy for seven years. 
' Oh, send your children to America,' said he, and gave 
cogent reasons for his advice, drawn from his own 
observations. The people brought us presents of articles 
of food. 

" Saturday, September 8 ( Tahitian Sunday). — Prayer- 



5 2 MEMOIR OF 

meeting at sunrise. Sabbath-school at eight A. M. At 
nine A. M. Mr. Pritchard preached to the natives. At 
eleven sermon in English by myself. Afternoon, ser- 
mon by Mr. Whitney; questions on the morning sermon 
and speeches. Evening, discussion of the salary and 
' common stock ' systems of support. 

''September p {Tahitian Monday). — After breakfast 
took leave of Mr. and Mrs. Orsmond and their inter- 
esting family of eight children, and at eight A. M. pulled 
away for Papara, leaving behind the wooded hills of 
Taiarapu. . . . Landed nearly opposite Mr. Henry's 
plantation at twelve o'clock, and visited his sugar works, 
mill, etc. Went up to his house on the hill and took 
dinner with Mrs. Henry, whose husband was absent in 
the Colonies. We re-embarked at three P. M. and landed 
at the great moral which was building when Wallis dis- 
covered the island in 1767. We climbed to its summit, 
built chiefly of the coral rock, fifty feet high and two 
hundred feet long. We walked on to Papara, crossing 
the streams as usual on men's shoulders. Visited Father 
Davies' very neat chapel, and took a pleasant stroll with 
Mr. Tinker. . . . 

" September 10. — Returned to Papeete. 

" September 11. — Bade farewell to Tahiti, and weighed 
anchor at noon. At four P. M. anchored in Taru, or Opun- 
ohu Harbor, at the north end of Eimeo, and on landing 
were cordially received by Mr. and Mrs. Alexander 
Simpson, Principals of the South Sea Academy at Pape- 
toai." A letter written to Mr. Thos. Skillmann, October 
13, gives the following account of this institution: "It 
has hitherto been the wish of the London Missionary 
Society that the missionaries' children should take up 
their permanent abode in the islands. Accordingly 
provision has been made for their education. 



REV. JVM. P. ALEXANDER. 53 

" The South Sea Academy, instituted for this purpose, 
was opened in March, 1824, at Afareaitu, in the southwest 
part of the island of Eimeo, under the superintendence 
of Mr. and Mrs. Orsmond, under whose charge it con- 
tinued for seven years. It is now under the direction 
of Mr. and Mrs. Simpson, and its location has been 
changed to 'Blest Town,' in the district of Papetoai, of 
the same island. When we visited that island we spent 
two days at the academy. The house is a framed 
building, about one hundred and twenty-five feet long. 
The apartments at the east end are appropriated to the 
boys for lodgings and recitation-rooms, and the west end 
for the girls. The dining-room and family apartments are 
in the center. In front a yard of about three acres in 
extent, affording ample sporting-ground for the children, 
is inclosed by a substantial stone wall, beyond which the 
children are not allowed to go unless accompanied by 
their instructors. 

"On Saturday, September 13, we examined the 
children on the studies of the previous week. Their 
advancement in the knowledge of English grammar, 
geography and history was respectable for children of 
their age. In written composition they arc very prone 
to fall into the Tahitian idiom, yet it is believed that the 
school will greatly facilitate their acquisition of the 
English language. The children are allowed the privi- 
leges of this institution until they are fourteen years of 
age, when, being supposed to be capable of providing for 
themselves, they are no longer supported by the London 
Missionary Society." The society allowed them ;^io 
apiece, if necessary, per annum. There were at this 
time eleven girls and ten boys in the South Sea Acad- 
emy, who were each introduced to Mr. Alexander. He 



54 MEMOIR OP 

speaks of dining with Mr. and Mrs. Armitage, who were 
endeavoring to pronnote industry among the people — 
especially in the cultivation of cotton and indigo. 

" September ij. — News was received that the U. S. 
frigate Potomac, Commodore Downs, had arrived at 
Papeete, or * Wilks' Harbor,' from Honolulu. After 
consultation it was agreed that we should return to 
Papeete, taking with us Mrs. Simpson, who needed med- 
ical advice. At one P. M. we bade farewell to the children 
and to the romantic, rugged isle of Eimco, were be- 
calmed an hour or two, and at seven P. M. ran safely into 
the harbor of Papeete. I found Rev. Mr. Grier, the 
chaplain of the Potomac, at Mr. Pritchard's, and letters 
from Honolulu. 

" Saturday, September i^. — Tahitian Sunday. At nine 
A. M. Mr. Pritchard preached in native, and at eleven I 
preached in English. The Commodore and purser were 
present. The Commodore, purser, chaplain, and Mr. 
Warriner, mathematical instructor, took dinner with us." 

They appear to have finally sailed for the Marquesas 
on the 1 8th. The remainder of the trip is related in the 
two following letters to Mr. Thomas Skillmann, written 
on board of the Missionary Packet: — 

" October 13. 

" Dear Sir : After much pleasant intercourse with the 
brethren at Tahiti, taking our leave of them, we weighed 
anchor September 18, and steered away for the Mar- 
quesas Islands. It being impossible to sail directly from 
Tahiti to the Marquesas, we ran out to the south into the 
variable winds, by which we could get far enough east to 
be able to fetch those islands with the southeast trade- 
winds. 

" This led us to pass through the group called the 



REV. iVM. P. ALEXANDER. 55 

Austral Islands, in all of which the gospel has been 
introduced by native teachers from Tahiti. We passed 
in sight of three of them, — Rurutu, Tubuai and Rai- 
vavai — at the former of which we called. 

" Rurutu — called by Captain Cook Oheteroa — is situ- 
ated in south latitude 20° 27', and west longitude 150° 41'. 
In 1820 a large number of its inhabitants forsook it in 
consequence of a contagious disease which raged there 
at that time, and went to Tubuai, which lies about one hun- 
dred miles to the southeast. After remaining there for 
some time, attempting to return, they were driven out of 
their course by a storm, and, after drifting at the mercy of 
the waves for three weeks, their canoe struck on the 
reefs that surround Maurua — the most westerly of the 
Society Islands. They were hospitably received, and 
assisted in getting to Raiatea, where everything appeared 
new and surprising. They became pupils of the mis- 
sionaries, and publicly renounced ido atry. Shortly 
afterwards, accompanied by two Tahitian teachers, they 
were taken back to Rurutu in a whale-ship, and they soon 
induced the whole population to renounce idolatry. 
Some Raiateans, who had accompanied them, returned 
home, taking a boat load of their idols to the mission- 
aries as an evidence that they had renounced them. 
Since that time they have been occasionally visited by 
missionaries from the Society Islands, and a church has 
been organized, consisting of eighty persons. 

"The interesting circumstances attending the intro- 
duction of the gospel among them, and a desire to see 
how native missionaries conduct their labors, led us to 
pay them a visit. 

"On the morning of September 24, when about six 
miles from the island, we were boarded by a double 



56 MEMOIR OF 

canoe manned by six natives, the whole exterior of 
which exhibited very neat carved work. The sides and 
stern were tastefully ornamented with feathers, and the 
'whole was calculated to give us a favorable impression 
of their ingenuity and enterprise. They informed us 
that they were in the enjoyment of peace and plenty, 
and would be glad to receive a visit from us. Wc ac- 
cordingly lowered our boat and accompanied the canoe, 
which, going before us, showed the entrance between 
the reefs. This is quite intricate and dangerous, being 
not more than ten feet wide; as the swell was heavy, 
the surf broke entirely across it. We, however, reached 
the shore in safety. Just at the landing a large flag of 
white tapa was streaming in the wind from the top of a 
lofty pole — indicative of peace. About thirty natives 
assembled on the beach, decked out in the best their 
wardrobes could supply, gave us a hearty reception, wel- 
coming us to their shores with many an ^ I orana ' — 'Hap- 
piness attend you.' We were conducted to a large 
framed house, neatly plastered, in which we found two 
large, comfortable settees, a dining-table, and several 
well-made boxes. Having seated ourselves until some 
cocoanuts should be brought, almost the whole popula- 
tion of the village came in to say, * / orana! All the 
women that I saw had on bonnets, which the wives 
of the Tahitian teachers had taught them to make. 
Most of the men, too, had hats of somewhat similar 
make. 

*' After being refreshed with the milk of the cocoanut, 
I took a stroll through the village, and was as much 
surprised as delighted to find most of their houses neat, 
substantial framed buildings, well plastered, furnished 
with settees, tables, bedsteads, and boxes, all of which. 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 57 

as well as their houses, the Tahitians have taught them 
to make. We were sorry to learn that both the Tahitian 
teachers had gone a\\ ay. They had quarreled, and one 
of them had been taken away by ]\Ir. Williams at his 
last visit. The remaining one, according to the most 
definite information that we could get, was puffed up 
with pride, and wished to become great^ and, being 
unable to effect his purposes, became dissatisfied, went 
to sea in a whale-boat, and has not since been heard of. 
(Puna, the teacher here referred to, drifted to Manahiki 
and afterwards proceeded to Keppel's Island and Nula- 
fou, where he died.) Most of the people can read, and^ 
having several copies of the Tahitian Scriptures, they 
still meet regularly for worship, and read and pray 
together. 

"The Island is about five miles long, lying north and 
south, and two miles wide. We landed on the west side, 
where the people now meet for worship In a large 
building which they had built for a school-house, their 
church building having been blown down by the great 
storm of last December. 

" Being told that the largest settlement was on the 
opposite side of the island, and that the labor of crossing- 
over was not very great, having procured a guide, Mr. 
Tinker and I set out to go thither. We had not gone 
far when we came to a stream, which we crossed on the 
shoulders of our guide. Before we reached the ascent we 
passed through a delightful grove cf tamanu, chestnut, 
hau, bread-fruit, iron-wood, hala, papaya, cocoanut, paper 
mulberry, sugar-cane, bananas, etc. We also passed by 
a large bed of tare, many sweet-potatoes and a large 
orchard of pine-apples. We found the ascent steep and 
tiresome, the part over which we passed being, probably, 



58 MEMOIR OP 

eight hundred feet above the level of the ocean, the 
highest part of the island being about one thousand 
two hundred feet. The thick brakes and tall grass 
which overhung our path sometimes almost covered 
us. After resting awhile on the summit under the 
shade of the hau. we had just begun to descend 
when we met a company from the village to which we 
were going, loaded with spears and paddles curiously 
wrought, tapas of various patterns, and paroquets, which 
they were bringing over to trade with us. Before we 
reached the foot of the hill, we met several other parties 
who were also loaded with similar articles for barter. 
Exchanging the salutation ' / orana,' we proceeded, en- 
tering, as we descended, groves still more dense than 
those through which we had first passed. The inhabit- 
ants of the village gave us a cordial welcome. The 
first object that attracted our attention was the 
church, which is a framed building eighty by thirty- 
six feet, the upright posts painted red, the interven- 
ing spaces lathed and plastered. It has two wiildows 
in front, one on each side of the door, one in each 
end, and one on each side of the pulpit, which is 
really a piece of neat workmanship. The railing on 
each side of the stairs by which you ascend it is 
supported by eighteen spear handles. In front of the 
pulpit is a neat painted desk for the clerk. It has a 
good floor of the bread-fruit wood and seats of the same 
material. A large number of bamboos of oil are de- 
posited at one end of the house, and a pile of tapa in 
the pulpit, which the natives have contributed to the 
London Missionary Society to aid in sending the gospel 
to the heathen. While we were surveying the church a 
large number assembled, and though they could not 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 59 

understand our language, wc did not consider it im- 
proper to pray with and for them. Mr. Tinker there- 
fore entered the clerk's desk, saying, ^E pule tatou ;' and 
the whole assembly kneeled and behaved with much 
decorum while prayer was offered. The church is in the 
center of a yard inclosed by a neat wooden fence, 
through which, up to the door, is a raised pavement 
eight feet wide. Opposite the church we entered a large 
house of similar construction, in which we were pleased 
to find several copies of the Tahitian Bible, six or eight 
large well-made chests, two very comfortable bedsteads, 
and two settees. The house is surrounded by a pave- 
ment of hewn coral rock which extends about twelve 
feet in every direction. After passing through several 
similar habitations, we were led by one who seemed to 
be the highest chief, to his house. Taking us into a back 
room he presented each of us with a piece of tapa. We 
had scarcely time to thank him and seat ourselves on a 
settee in his large room, when it was filled with women, 
each having a child in her arms. These we were 
requested to baptize, which we declined to do, and we 
referred them to Mr. Williams, who expects to visit them 
in a few months. A table was then spread, and as we 
perceived that preparations were making to get us some 
dinner, and remembered that we had to return two miles 
over a steep hill, we intimated that we could not wait, 
and taking a refreshing draught of cocoanut water, we 
bade our kind new acquaintances an affectionate farewell, 
and with our guide began to climb the hill. There are 
in the village about twenty-five frame houses, besides 
others after the original native fashion made of bamboos. 
Taking it as a whole, I have seen no village in the Pacific 
where the generality of houses are so good, or where the 



6o MEMOIR OF 

people appear more kindly disposed toward missionaries. 
They were very anxious that one or both of us should 
stop and live among them. We hastened back and 
found the people assembling to hear a sermon from Mr. 
Whitney. When we reached the house where we stopped 
first when wc landed, we found a good dinner awaiting 
us, for which our walk had sharpened our appetite. It 
consisted of roast pig, taro, yam, bread-fruit and cocoa- 
nut milk. As it now grew late, we judged it expedient 
to return to our vessel. But just as we were getting 
into the boat, we were surprised with the salutation, 
' How do you do, gentlemen ?' from one who looked like 
a native. She told us that she was a native of Pitcairn 
Island, from which she has been absent eight years. 
She had brought her httle daughter in great haste, 
hoping that we would baptize her. She, perhaps, could 
have given us more satisfactory information respecting 
the islanders than anyone we had met with, but we were 
necessarily in such haste that we could ask but few 
questions. We therefore bade the people farewell, and 
taking a number of curiosities that we. had collected, 
pulled away to the schooner, passing through the reefs 
much more easily than we had expected. The number 
of inhabitants on the island is somewhere between two 
and three hundred. The readiness with which the peo- 
ple parted with their spears, showed their present dispo- 
sition for peace and order. We trust their anxiety for a 



Austral Islands. — Rev. Mr. Richards, of the London Society's 
mission at Kaialea, Society Islands, gives in the Chronicle an interesting 
account of a visit among the Austral Islands, Rurutu, Tupuai, and 
Rimatara, which he made in company with Rev. Mr. Pearce, of New Guinea, 
in the John VVilliavis in 1887. The object of the tour was not merely to 
visit the native churches, but to secure recruits for the mission on New 
Guinea. At Rurutu the population is increasing, now amounting to about 
seven hundred and fifty, and their stone church, with walls two and one- 



REV. WM. P, ALEXANDER. 6i 

missionary to instruct them will not long be indulged in 
vain, and that someone who loves the Lord Jesus in 
sincerity, will be sent to show them the w^ay of life. 

"\Vc have now been becalmed for several days. With 
a favorable wind we could reach the Marquesas Islands 
in one or two days. When we shall have visited them I 
will give you some of the results of our observations. 
"Affectionately yours, W. P. ALEXANDER." 

" November 2, 1832. 

" Dear Sir : After being becalmed more than a 
week, on the 20th of October we were gladdened by seeing 
four of the Marquesas Islands, viz., Fatuhiwa, Moakane, 
Tahuata and Hivaoa. In the afternoon we came so 
near Fatuhiwa that we were visited by several canoes, 
most of their occupants perfectly naked, from whom w^e 
learned that the native teachers left by the missionaries 
from Tahiti resided on the opposite side. Being desirous 
of having an interview with them, we lay to during the 
night, and in the morning stood in near the place where 
they reside. It being the Sabbath we hoped to go 
ashore and hold a religious meeting with the natives. 
Our deck was soon crowded with the vociferous unclad 
savages. Their demands for powder and muskets were 
peculiarly eager. They informed us that several men 
had lately been sacrificed, but that they enjoyed peace 
at present, and urged us earnestly to go ashore. At 



half feet thick, will seat five hundred. The church-members number 
three hundred and eleven, somewhat less than one-half the population. 
Everything indicates thrift and careful cullivation, and the people are hon- 
est and industrious. The chief trader said, " I could leave most of them 
alone in my store without any fear of being robbed."' \Vhen their church 
was being built, the Rurutans heard that a large log of foreign wood had 
been washed ashore on an island two hundred and twenty miles distant. 
They at once put to sea, found and purchased the log, and brought it to 
Rurutu to make seats for their new church. The church gladly gave up 
one of their members and his wife to go as missionaries to New Guinea. 



62 MEMOIR OF 

eleven A. M. the Tahitian teachers came off, and informed 
us that thirteen persons had been sacrificed and eaten 
within two months, that the last had been eaten but 
the day before, that the people treated their instructors 
with perfect contempt, that they were unmolested, but 
had been unable to accomplish anything. They said 
that ro white men had ever landed since they arrived, 
and they could not tell whether it would be safe for us 
or not. As there was no prospect of holding a religious 
meeting with the natives, and it might be dangerous to 
go ashore, we determined to proceed, and the next 
morning at nine o'clock stood off Resolution Bay on the 
w^est side of Tahuata, the place where Mr. Crook, an 
English missionary, labored during the year 1797. We 
were soon visited by loteta, the highest chief on the 
island, with whom we went ashore. We found living 
with him a Charles Robinson, of Dublin, tatooed on his 
body and face in Marquesan style. Fifteen months ago 
three Tahitian teachers were left here by Mr. Darling, a 
missionary of the London Missionary Society. The 
people laid aside their old system, and generally sub- 
mitted to instruction, till their teachers lost their influ- 
ence by immoral conduct. Two of them have returned 
to Tahiti, and the remaining one was present and 
admitted that the above was a true statement of the 
case. loteta and his principal men expressed a great 
desire to have white missionaries come and reside among 
them, promising to renounce idolatry and the tabu sys- 
tem, and obey their instructions. We saw in the tabu 
houses, several large wooden idols of ghastly appearance, 
the carving of which was exceedingly rude, to which 
human sacrifices are offered. Many of them were 
engaged in their chief amusement, beating drums. 



REV. JVM. P. ALEXANDER. 63 

accompanied by a monotonous chanting and clapping of 
the hands. 

" The Valley of Waitohu, which faces the bay, is very 
fertile, abounding in bread-fruit, which here comes to the 
highest perfection, cocoanuts, papayas, bananas, and 
taro; of other trees we saw the hau, iron-wood and 
tamanu. Pumpkins are also very abundant here, but 
we saw no potatoes. In the evening we directed our 
course to Uapou, which lies fifty miles to the east of 
Tahuata. We are persuaded that missionaries might 
reside at Tahuata with safety and with cheering pros- 
pects of success; and I trust that the glad tidings of 
peace on earth and good-will to men will not be with- 
held from these benighted people, who now beg us to 
come and teach them. 

" Early next morning we reached Uapou, where sev- 
eral canoes came off and gave us a very favorable 
account of the state of the people; but the sea was so 
rough that we could not land. We therefore turned our 
faces towards Nukuhiwa, which lies fifty miles north of 
Uapou; and at ten o'clock A. M., October 21, we cast 
anchor in Massachusetts Bay. Here we remained three 
days, conferring with the chiefs and principal men respect- 
ing the establishment of a mission among them, and 
walking up and down the fertile valleys, which stretch 
from the bay in various directions far back into the 
mountains. 

" The people everywhere received us with the utmost 
cordiality, and seemed emulous who should make the 
greatest effort to please us. Reports which had reached 
them respecting the missionary work in the Sandwich 
and Society Islands, had already prepared both chiefs 
and people to plead earnestly that missionaries might be 



64 MEMOIR OF 

sent to teach them also. They promised if we would 
come, to renounce their system of superstition and 
idolatry, and to give heed to our instructions. When 
encouraged to expect missionaries in a few months, 
Hape, the principal chief among the Teiis, who inhabit 
the valleys around the harbor, pointed out a yery fertile 
district, abounding in bread-fruit trees and cocoanuts, 
which he intended to give them; and he promised to 
have a house built on it ready for their reception when 
they should arrive. To show us how slender were the 
ties which bind him to his old system, he ate before us 
a portion of a sacred fowl and pig, from which the tabu 
system restricted him. 

" We also visited the picturesque Valley of Taioa, four 
miles to the westward, and found the natives there in 
like manner prepared for the reception of the gospel. 
The field is white to the harvest, and shall not the reaper 
put in the sickle ? We saw four white men at Nukuhiwa. 
William Morrison, an Englishman, has resided there six 
years, is tattooed like the natives, wears his hair and 
beard like them, and, like them, has no article of clothing 
except the maro. William Raymond, an Englishman, 
has been there fifteen months, and lives with Messrs. 
Angell and Shaw, Americans, who six months ago 
stopped there to make a fortune by cultivating vege- 
tables to sell to shipping, when they call for supplies. 
They have been industrious; and I think they will not 
present any obstacles in our way. 

"On the evening of the 25th we weighed an- 
chor, and during the night ran down to Uapou, where 
on the morning of the 27th Mr. Whitney and I went 
ashore, and found the people far more wild than at 
Nukuhiwa, yet perfectly friendly. They say that if 
the people of Nukuhiwa receive missionaries and do not 



REV. IVM. P. ALEXANDER. 65 

die in consequence of it, they will be willing to re- 
ceive them too. Their tahua, or inclosure for dancing 
koikay and revelry on festal occasions, is the most splen- 
did one that we have seen on the islands, being a neat, 
oblong pavement three hundred feet long by one hun- 
dred feet wide, having an outer border eight feet wide, 
elevated three feet above the paved area which it in- 
closes. On this border a series of houses are erected, 
joining each other so as to completely inclose the court 
of idolatry. Within the inclosure are two platforms of 
solid rock, thirty feet square and five feet high, stations 
for those who beat drums during the festivals, besides 
which there are four scaffolds of bamboo, the use of 
which I did not learn. (Probably like the Hawaiian 
lele^ to place offerings on.) The whole is shaded by 
thirty-five tall, spreading bread-fruit trees, which grow 
within the court. The large hewn stone steps by which 
we entered, and the whole structure, manifested far 
greater skill in masonry than I had supposed the peo- 
ple possessed. 

"On the afternoon of the same day on which we vis- 
ited Uapou, we turned our faces towards the Sandwich 
Islands, to which we are now hastening, favored by a 
fine breeze and friendly swell. The objects of our voy- 
age are now accomplished ; and it is not the smallest 
matter for rejoicing that the Lord has opened for us a 
wide and an effectual door among the Nukuhivans." 

They safely arrived in Honolulu about the 17th of 
November, 1832. 

It was stated in the letter from the mission to Dr. An- 
derson, of December 27, 1832, that "the information 
gained by the visit, both with respect to the Society 
as well as the Marquesas Islands, was sufficient of itself 
to compensate for all the expense incurred." 



CHAPTER VI. 



TRAVELS ON HAWAII. 



AFTER Mr. Alexander's return to the Hawaiian Isl- 
ands, considerable time elapsed before it was de- 
termined by the Hawaiian Mission and the American 
Board, to undertake the Marquesas Mission. Mean- 
while he was occupied part of the time in preaching in 
English in Honolulu, and part of the time in tours 
through Hawaii. From his letters the following ac- 
counts of his journeys are taken: — 

" Kailua^ Hawaii, July 20, i8j2. — Arrived off Kailua, 
with Brethren Whitney and Tinker, on the schooner 
Becket, at daybreak, and came ashore and took breakfast 
with Brother Bishop and family in their cool, delightful 
house. Took tea with Mr. Thurston, who has a very 
commodious, excellent dwelling. At the suggestion of 
Mr. Tinker we visited a remarkable cavern, the entrance 
of which is in Mr. Thurston's yard, in which we traveled 
over a quarter of a mile, under many a sepulchral arch, 
till we came to a spacious pond of brackish water. The 
name of this cavern is Laniakea (the wide heavens). It 
was formerly resorted to as a refuge by those who fled 
in battle. ... I should have mentioned the fort of 
Kailua, and the huge idols, placed beside the cannon, 
whose hideous features may be intended to frighten all 
evil back into the ocean. 

"This morning Brethren Whitney, Tinker, and my- 
(66) 



REV. IV M. P. ALEXANDER. 67 

self embarked at four o'clock on a large double canoe 
for Kaawaloa, fifteen miles distant, which we reached 
before seven o'clock A. M. Mr. Ruggles had sent us 
some large bunches of grapes, like unto the grapes of 
Eschol, which were very refreshing. Presently Brother 
Forbes arrived with pics hot out of the oven. Thus 
strengthened we commenced the ascent towards Mr. 
Forbes' residence, three miles distant, at Kuapehu. 
About every two hundred yards arbors had been erected 
for the relief of travelers, at each of which we found it 
refreshing to rest. In about an hour and a half w^e 
reached the top, and were heartily welcomed by Mr. and 
Mrs. Ruggles and Hulda, and especially by Mrs. Forbes, 
who received me almost with enthusiasm. I am now 
seated by Brother Forbes' desk, in his little grass hut, 
everything around me neat and comfortable, the air 
sweet and •cool, the yard full of shrubbery, grass, and 
flowers. But I assure you, it was no trifle to reach this 
enchanted spot. Since dinner, with Brethren Forbes, 
Ruggles and Tinker, I took a walk northward about a 
mile along the new road. We passed through a forest 
of the ohia apple tree, the bread-fruit, and the kukui, or 
candlenut tree, and at openings in the woods found 
excellent potato and taro patches. It was pleasant to 
observe the native houses surrounded with many varieties 
of American flowers, their porches covered with vines, and 
their yards inclosed, not with huge mud walls, but with 
the ti, interlocked, and its tops covered with broad green 
leaves. We visited Kapiolani (The-prisoner-of-heaven), 
the highest chief in this part of the island. She has a 
very neat house wearing the appearance of civilization. 
Brother Ruggles led us through her vineyard, which 
covers about an acre and is loaded with grapes." 



6S MEMOIR OF 

Soon after writing the foregoing, Mr. Alexander 
returned to Honolulu, and a few months afterwards, in 
company with Mr. Armstrong, made another tour on 
Hawaii, some account of which is here given: — 

" Thursday^ Jajiuary j, i8jj.- — Arrived at Kawaihae, 
and was hospitably entertained by Mr. Young, who has 
been on the islands for more than forty years. His wife 
is a church-member, and his daughters appear well. 
( He was the father of Emma, afterwards the queen of 
Kamehameha IV.) Friday we embarked for Hilo, 
and encountered a fierce gale, and with all sails furled, 
except the foresail, and the helm lashed, we drifted at 
the mercy of the wind two days, when at three P. M. 
Brother Armstrong and I landed at Puako. . . . 
After a tiresome walk of eighteen miles, drenched with 
rain, we found the shelter of Brother Baldwin's domicile 
at Waimea very pleasant. Brother Lyons vyas sick in 
bed. 

^'January 7. — Went with Brethren Armstrong, Spauld- 
ing, and Chapin to a remarkable cave, formerly a deposi- 
tory for the dead. We counted eighty bodies, and sup- 
pose that it contains more than one hundred. They are 
wrapped in tapa, and have beside them calabashes for 
water and poi, spit-boxes, and pieces of sugar-cane. 

^^ January g. — With seven natives to carry clothes, 
food, water, and their own provisions. Brother Armstrong 
and I commenced the journey to Hilo via Luapele 
(Kilauea). Passed through a fine country covered with 
grass, shrubbery, and wild cattle, and encamped at the 
eastern foot of Mauna Kea, having walked twenty miles. 
The natives threw up a bulwark of grass on one side, 
and built a large fire on the other, when having eaten 
our evening meal, and had prayers in English and 



REV. JVJL P. ALEXANDER. 69 

Hawaiian, we slept comfortably under the broad heav- 
ens. ... 

" Tlmrsday, lotli. — Entered a field of lava, covering 
many square miles. Night coming on, we searched long 
for a place suitable for encamping, and at length found 
a spot of earth under an ohia tree, large enough for us 
all to lie upon. In the morning we found ice in our 
calabashes. 

'*. . . . Within a mile of the volcano we found 
an ignorant heathen with two children, who are here for 
catching birds for the feathers, of which they make leis!' 
(They were seeking the little black birds, Oo, which yield 
a {^\s yellow feathers under their wings. When they 
are plucked out, the bird is set at liberty, to be again 
caught and plucked. These feathers are wrought into 
cloaks, capes, wreaths and kahilis, to deck royalty. The 
value of one such cloak is estimated, by the labor of its 
construction, as equal to $100,000.) "With axes fur- 
nished by them, we cut the Pulu-hapuu fern, and 
roasted it for food, our stock of provisions being nearly 
gone. 

" Depositing our goods in a little hut, built for travel- 
ers, at the brink of the crater, we descended by a cir- 
cuitous, though steep and difficult, route, into the vol- 
cano. . . . We went directly to the great boiling 
caldron on the opposite side, two miles distant. We 
found it a literal lake of fire and brimstone, three thou- 
sand feet long, and one thousand feet wide, rolling its 
crimson waves from the east to the west, and tossing 
its fiery surges forty or fifty feet into the air. Though 
almost suffocated with the sulphurous smoke, and roasted 
with heat, we advanced to the very brink of the lake. 
The pungency of the smoke compelled us to retire, and in 



JO MEMOIR OF 

not more than three minutes the direction of the action 
changed, and the spot on which we had stood was 
drenched with red-hot lava. It then seemed to pursue 
us, as if we had bjen too daring in venturing so near; 
for as we hastened to get away, the fiery stream fell 
nearer and nearer us, so that we became apprehensive 
that we might be compelled to take a shower bath 
warmer than would be comfortable. No one could look 
upon this scene without being impressed with the terri- 
ble majesty of God. If one small spot can furnish 
such a scene, what must the whole earth on fire appear 
at the Judgment to him who has no refuge? We 
hastened to ascend and were glad to find ourselves once 
more on solid ground. 

"Finding our natives in readiness, we immediately 
set out on our journey towards Hilo, and before dark 
reached Kuolo, twenty-four miles, where we were 
hospitably entertained by Kanai, a member of Brother 
Dibble's church. His fowl and taro were acceptable, as 
our stock of provisions was just exhausted. 

'^January 75. — At ten A. M. we reached Hilo, three 
miles, and were heartily w^elcomed by Sister Lyman, 
and dined on a fat turkey. . . . 

^^ January 16. — In concert with the brethren we 
observe to-day as a day of fasting and prayer, for 
direction in reference to the Marquesan Mission, meeting 
at the house of Mr. Dibble at eleven A. M. and at three 
P. M. 



CHAPTER VIL 



THE MARQUESAS ISLANDS, 



AT the session of the general meeting held in April, 
1833, at Lahaina, it was decided to undertake a 
mission in the northern or Washington group of the 
Marquesas Islands. The American Board had written 
advising against this; but before their message was re- 
ceived, the Hawaiian Mission, thinking that the offer of 
the chief, Hape, to receive missionaries should not be 
neglected, had already sent Messrs. Alexander, Arm- 
strong and Parker to that field. 

A brief description of those islands will prepare us for 
the accounts of their sojourn there. The Marquesas lie 
in two parallel groups, thirteen islands in all, extending 
from southeast to northwest, between latitude south 
eight to eleven degrees, and longitude west one hundred 
and thirty-three to one hundred and fifty degrees. The 
southern group was discovered July 21, 1595, by Alvaro 
Mendona, and by him named Marquesas in honor of 
Marquesas de Mendoza, the viceroy of Peru. The 
northern group, to which our missionaries went, was un- 
known till tivo hiindred years later, when it was dis- 
covered by an American, Captain Ingraham, and by him 
named, "The Washington Islands." 

These islands are all of volcanic origin. They are 
simply mountains rising from the ocean, varying from 
two thousand to four thousand feet in height. From 

(71) 



72 MEMOIR OF 

their summits sharp ridges extend to the sea, terminat- 
ing in high bluffs, and separating the valleys from each 
other by high precipices ; so that access from one valley 
to another is generally impossible except by canoe. 
Over all their rugged cliffs and rocky ridges there is a 
perpetual robe of verdure. Nuuhiva, the largest, is 
about seventy miles in circumference. 

Mr. Coan says of it: ''The peaks of this island 
rise to the height of three thousand three hundred 
and sixty feet. Almost every pinnacle is carpeted 
with vines; even on the perpendicular walls of the 
precipices a tapestry of shrubs and verdure hangs. 
The bay of this island, called Taiohae, is shaped like a 
horseshoe. It is nine miles in circumference, half a mile 
wide at its entrance, where it is flanked by two grand 
head-lands over five hundred feet high, and extends at 
the center to two miles in breadth. Its shore is a beau- 
tiful crescent of sand, interrupted here and there with 
shingle and bowlders." Says H. Melville (Typee), "No 
description can do justice to the beauty of the scenery of 
this bay. The mountains shut in a vast natural amphi- 
theater of deep glens, overgrown with vines and gleam- 
ing with cascades. I felt regret that a scene so en- 
chanting was hidden from the world in these remote 
seas." He says of a view he obtained from the sum- 
mit of the mountain: "Had a glimpse of the gardens 
of Paradise been given me, I could scarcely have been 
more ravished with the sight." 

The inhabitants of these islands are the Polynesian 
race, that has peopled nearly all the islands of the Pa- 
cific. So similar is their language to that of the Ha- 
waiian s that Hawaiian Bibles and other books are easily 
read by them, 



REV. VVM. P. ALEXANDER. 73 

The population of these islands, at the beginning of 
this century, was estimated to be twenty thousand; in 
1876 it was only five thousand, seven hundred and fifty- 
four, diminished by war, cannibalism and disease. 

The people are a finer appearing race than those on 
the Society and Hawaiian Islands. Says Mr. Bingham 
(Hawaiian Islands): "The Marquesans were more noble 
in form and stature than the Hawaiians, and the women, 
vile as they were, more comely, though some of the 
people were horribly tattooed. But the men were dis- 
tinguished more for pride and independence of feeling 
than any other natives in the Pacific isles. Our mis- 
sionaries were struck with the lofty air with which these 
swarthy, half-naked sons of ignorance would pace the 
deck of a foreign vessel, as if the ship and the ocean 
were at their command, though they were as poor as 
Robinson's Crusoe's goats." 

The following accounts of the experiences of the mis- 
sionaries in those islands are chiefly taken from reminis- 
cences written by Mrs. Alexander: — 

They embarked July 2, 1833, on the brig DJiaulle, 
a Baltimore clipper, commanded by Captain Bancroft. 

All the missionaries then at Honolulu assembled to 
bid them farewell, "hardly expecting to again meet them 
this side the shore of Canaan." All were much affected 
as they sang together and united in prayer offered by 
Mr. Bingham. 

With them were two infant children, the eldest daugh- 
ter of Mr. Armstrong, and the eldest son of Mr. Alexan- 
der, the latter of whom learned to walk on the return 
voyage. They took with them Hawaiian nurses, who 
were of great service in the care of the children. 
The voyage was anything but conifortable. They were 



^4 MEMOIR OF 

crowded together, six adults with their two children in 
a cabin twelve feet square, in the center of which was a 
stairway. In these close quarters they suffered much 
for lack of fresh air, especially as it often became neces- 
sary to close the hatch to keep out the rain, and as "the 
vessel contained its full share of bilge water." They had 
poor fare, of salt meat, hard bread and rice rather the 
worse for having been brought around Cape Horn. Un- 
favorable winds obliged them to put into the harbor 
of Tahiti, where they arrived July 24, and enjoyed 
three days on shore under the shade of the orange, co- 
coanut, and guava trees. They were hospitably enter- 
tained by Rev. Mr. Pritchard. Mr. Armstrong wrote : 
" Nature here wears her loveliest, gaudiest dress. From 
the beach to the topmost pinnacle of the mountains all 
is green and cheering to the beholder. Our rooms are 
strewed with oranges, limes, guavas and vi, which are 
very refreshing after the seasickness of our voyage." 
Here Mr. George Bicknell presented them with a cow 
and a calf, the best of his herd, without which the infant 
daughter of Mr. Armstrong would not have lived. They 
arrived at Nuuhiva at ten A. M., August 10, 1833. 

"As soon as we arrived," says Mrs. Alexander, ''the 
natives came off in great numbers, the women swimming, 
and holding by one hand their white tapas, their only 
garment, out of the water. [H. Melville has given the 
reason for the swimming of the women: "Canoes were 
tabooed to them, hence when a woman goes to a ship she 
puts in requisition the paddles of her own fair body."] 
The deck was soon crowded with men, women and 
children, most of them entirely naked, a few having only 
a strip of tapa around the waist, all makirf^ a deafening 
noise. At sight of the women and children they were 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 75 

greatly excited, jumping on the deck with loud shouts 
of laughter. All the talk fore and aft was' Vahine' 
and ' PikaninV (women and children). 

"The ladies remained below in the cabin, until the 
captain, throwing hard bread to the front part of the 
vessel, gathered the natives forward, and then put up a 
board fence, and, through an interpreter, informed them 
that the ladies would come on deck and could be seen 
if they would remain at the forepart of the vessel." 
(Mrs. Armstrong's sketches.) 

"As soon as we had come on deck," wrote Mrs. Alex- 
ander, " the natives shouted 'Moatake' (good). I had a 
babe three months old; the women admired him, and 
begged for him. Swimming beside the ship, they showed 
how they could hold him out of the water. [They pro- 
posed to make him their king; more likely they would 
have put him into one of their baking-ovens.] 

"The men made me think of devils. They had long 
hair, tied in two bunches on the top of their heads. 
Their faces were tatooed black; strings of shark's teeth 
were strung around their necks, and tufts of human hair 
bound to their waists and ankles." The chiefs wore 
chaplets of cocoanut fiber binding a mother-of-pearl 
shell on the brow, surmounted with tall bird-feathers. 

At evening the captain persuaded the natives to go 
ashore, with the promise that the next day the mission- 
aries would land. "Some of the wild men immediately 
proposed to exchange wives with the missionaries. As 
we gazed at the island in the evening light, it baffled 
comprehension, that beings so vile should be placed in 
scenes so beautiful." (Mrs. Armstrong's sketches.) 

The accounts given them by their interpreter, of recent 
events, were not assuring. During the week previous a 



76 MEMOIR OF 

company of four white men and a number of natives 
had visited the opposite side of the island for kava, and 
had there been attacked by the natives. Part of them 
made their escape in a boat; but two of the white men 
were killed and immediately disemboweled and eaten. 
During the same week a Captain Dean, of the English 
ship Elizabeth, had landed on a neighboring. island and 
been immediately murdered. 

"On the 1 2th of August, all our company," writes 
Mrs. Alexander, "except myself, went ashore. I re- 
mained to care for the babes. They visited Hape, the 
chief He was sick, but was pleased to see them, and 
said he would give them the house he was then occupy- 
ing. The savages everywhere followed them shouting, 
the women sometimes coming close and lifting the bon- 
nets of the ladies for a fuller view, and exclaiming, 
'Moatake! 

" On the 15th of August we all took up our abode 
in a house near the shore, furnished by Hape. It was 
fifty feet long, open all the length on one side four 
feet above the ground, and thatched with bread-fruit 
leaves shingled over each other. The floor was paved 
with smooth, round stones. We closed up the open side 
of the house with boards, made doors four feet high, 
formed windows by cutting away part of the bread-fruit 
leaves from the bamboo frame-work, and partitioned the 
house by calico and sheeting into four rooms; one of 
these rooms, at the end, was used for a store-room ;the 
next was occupied by Mr. Parker's family, the next by 
Mr. Alexander's, and the next, near the beach, and 
almost in the roaring surf, by Mr. Armstrong's family. 
At first our doors and windows were crowded almost to 
suffocation by the savages gazing at us. Our cooking 



REV. VVM. P. ALEXANDER. 77 

was done outside, under a spreading bread-fruit tree, by 
placing kettles on stones over the fire. It was the rainy- 
season, so that outdoor cooking was difficult. Some- 
times the natives would take the food out of the kettles 
by hooks, and carry it away. We bought bread-fruit 
of them, with knives, fish-hooks, and such other things 
as they wanted." 

The captain of the DJimdle had been directed to 
remain two weeks to make sure of their safety, but he 
was impatient to get away from the savages. Says Mr. 
Armstrong: "To-day (August 21) the Dhaidle takes 
her departure, and leaves us alone in this end of 
the earth; but the Lord is our sun and shield; and those 
who trust in him cannot be moved." 

"Our first work," says Mrs. Alexander, "was to build 
comfortable homes. The natives were hired to bring 
timber of bread-fruit and cocoanut trees, and bread- 
fruit leaves, but they tried us very much by their indo- 
lence. At length three houses were completed, placed 
so near together that we could call from one to the 
other. I often was made to tremble in the night when 
the savages would pass close by with flaming torches, on 
their way from fishing. One touch of their torches 
would have set the houses all ablaze. 

" We divided each house into a bedroom, dining-room, 
and room for native visitors. They were so thievish 
that we could not allow them to enter any room but this^ 
which was always free to them. We once left a box of 
articles for trade in this room, and soon found it empty. 
They would often thrust bamboo sticks, with hooks, 
through our lattice windows, to take whatever they could 
reach. We often awoke at night to find them with their 
poles thrust through the windows, taking clothing or any- 



78 MEMOIR OF 

thing they could get, or pulHng up the thatch to take 
whatever they could reach, sometimes not one only, but 
a gang- of thieves stealing at the same time from differ- 
ent parts of the house. It was most annoying to see 
their black faces peering through the windows, and 
through openings they tore through the thatch. I dared 
not look at them, for I was sure to see a look that would 
fill me with disgust and horror. 

" The brethren went out every day amongst them 
with pencil and paper, to learn words, and afterwards 
compared notes, As they roamed about they were 
delighted with the rich and beautiful scenery. The 
groves of bread-fruit, cocoanut, and papaia, and a great 
variety of thick vines and shrubbery, formed one almost 
unbroken shade. At almost every house they were 
hospitably received, and invited to eat bread-fruit poi. 

"I stayed in the house wath the doors locked ; for I was 
afraid to be left alone. But such confinement was not 
good for my health. I therefore one day proposed to 
take a walk with my husband. We had not gone far 
from the house, when the men followed us, and behaved 
in such a manner that we returned to the house." 

The fifth Sabbath after their arrival, Mr. Alexander 
preached the first sermon, telling the natives of the 
vanity of their gods, and of the true God. This sermon 
has been found amongst his papers, marked, " The first 
sermon preached in the Marquesas Is." 

" The big bread-fruit tree that had been used as a 
cook-house was now used as a church. The ladies sat 
under its shade on chairs, while the natives rushed 
around in noisy confusion. The preaching was no easy 
task. The natives would smoke and talk and mimic. 
Some would lie and sleep, some laugh and talk, some 



REV. IVM. P. ALEXANDER. 79 

mock and excite laughter; here one would sit smoking 
a pipe, there one twisting a rope; often there was such 
confusion that the preacher could scarcely hear himself 
speak. Not unfrequently the half of those present would 
arise and go off laughing and mocking. They were 
ready to gnash on us with their teeth when we told them 
their gods were false. They would often say, ' Tivava 
(it is a lie). ' Your God is good for you,' they would 
say, 'ours are good for us.' When the preacher shut his 
eyes, they asked, Ts your God blind, that you shut your 
eyes?' An ax had been stolen. They said, 'You tell 
us your God is great and good, let him find the thief if 
he is so great.' " Mr. Coan tells how, years after, when 
describing Heaven, he was interrupted by the remark, 
" That will be a good place for cowards and lazy folks, 
who are afraid to fight, and too lazy to climb bread-fruit 
and cocoanut trees." 

Afterwards the brethren preached by rotation every 
Sabbath, and after the eighth of December, twice on 
Sabbath. They also preached in English to the few 
foreigners on the island. After four months' residence 
on the island they were able to translate into Marquesan 
four hymns, which much pleased the natives and secured 
their attention. The last three months they were able 
to pray extempore in Marquesan. Generally only 
twenty natives attended their meetings. Once one hun- 
dred and fifty attended. Mrs. Armstrong and the other 
ladies conducted a school for the children, but only a few 
attended, and they very irregularly; and not more than 
half a dozen learned the alphabet. 

"This is indeed a wretched, degraded people. I would 
not have believed there was a people so nearly on a level 
with the brute creation, if I had not .seen this people. 



8o MEMOIR OF 

The women are greatly oppressed by the taboo system. 
They are forbidden to enter many of the houses of the 
men, and have few of the privileges the men enjoy; they 
are also abused and cruelly beaten by their husbands. 
Yet they plead for having five or six husbands. They 
ask who will prepare their food if they have only one 
husband. The first husband is a chief, and he must not 
work; and it is considered not proper for the second also 
to work; and therefore they must have five or six hus- 
bands." 

Although Hape was the chief of this part of the 
island, the natives seemed to be almost without control. 
One of the missionaries once asked, " Who is king here?" 
The reply was, " You are king; I am king; we are all 
kings." This was a sort of a democracy of liberty 
without law. Strange to say, there were men from civ- 
ilized lands who actually enjoyed it. There were eight 
white men on the island, living in the same degradation 
as the natives. The popular writer, Herman Melville, 
spent several months here, and poetically described the 
neighboring valley as the " Happy Valley." " Here," 
he humorously wrote, " were none of the thousand 
sources of irritation that the ingenuity of civilized man 
has created to mar his own felicity. There were no 
foreclosures of mortgages, no protested notes, no debts 
of honor, no poor relatives everlastingly occupying the 
bed-chamber, no beggars, no debtor's prisons, no proud 
and hard-hearted nabobs, or, to sum up all in one word, 
no money. All was fun and high good-humor, frolic 
with flowers and the sport of hunting and fishing." 

The missionaries saw an amusing illustration of this 
sort of felicity in the case of a man who claimed to be 
the son of an English nobleman, who had been sent to 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 8i 

sea as a bad boy to be reformed, and had run away from 
his ship, and was there at that time going almost naked, 
tattooed all over, except on his face. He was accus- 
tomed to climb over the highest ridges to attend savage 
feasts, and he remarked that " this was the happiest pe- 
riod of his life." 

The happiness of this style of life was not entirely 
unalloyed. To say nothing of the degradation of it, 
and of the misery of the prevailing superstitions, there 
was continually the horror of savage strife and cannibal- 
ism. Sometimes, at night, a company would go in a 
canoe to a distant bay, and there land, and stealthily 
surround a house, and at a given signal kill everyone 
within, aad then they would hurry away with the dead 
bodies to their port, and there have a cannibal feast. 
The people of the distant bay would do a similar act in 
retaliation; and thus a savage war would be occasioned. 

The people of each valley were accustomed to kill 
those of the neighboring valley at sight. Mr. Alexan- 
der once desired to explore the valley of Typee, with a 
view to making a mission station there. With much 
difficulty he found a man, who was a sort of neutral, 
that is, one permitted to go unharmed from one valley 
to the other. With this man he and Mr. Parker went 
to Typee. Immediately on entering that valley, they 
were surrounded by a savage multitude vociferating 
fiercely. In 1813 Captain Porter, of the U. S. ship Essex, 
had chastised the natives of that valley, and had pursued 
them far into the interior of the island, killing many of 
them. One of the natives now exclaimed, "Porter killed 
my father." Another said, " Porter killed my brother." 
Another, clapping his hand on his shoulder, said, " Porter 
shot me here." The missionaries then expected to be 
6 



82 . MEMOIR OF 

killed, when their guide said to the natives: "These 
men are not like Porter. He came to fight; these men 
have come to teach us not to fight." He then repeated, 
very correctly, the sermons which the missionaries had 
preached. The natives then shouted, " Moatake'' (good), 
and conducted them to a house, where they spent the 
night, expecting to be clubbed before morning; but they 
were not disturbed, and the next morning they were 
allowed to return home, which they did, by the advice 
of their guide, by a different route from that of the day 
before. 

The chief, Hape, at length became quite unfriendly. 
He was disappointed that the missionaries did not cure 
him of his sickness, and did not give him more presents, 
for which he daily begged ; and he urged the natives not 
to attend the meetings. 

On the 4th of December he died. ''The hills then 
echoed with wailing, the thumping of drums, and the 
blowing of conch shells." The body was hung high in 
a canoe over the heiaii; and the first wife was obliged to 
remain continually in care of it, to provide food for the 
spirit, until the body had so far decayed that the bones 
could be picked out, which it was the privilege of the 
wife, or the nearest relative, to do. Mr. Alexander has 
given in one of his sermons a picture of the scenes then 
witnessed. "The funeral rites beggared description, for 
obscenity, noise, cruelty and beastly exposure. 
They lasted seven days, and were the darkest days I 
ever saw. Companies came from all parts, filling the 
air with loud wailings, dancing in a state of perfect nudity 
around the corpse, like so many furies, cutting their 
flesh with shells and sharp stones, till the blood trickled 
down to their feet, the women tearing out their hair, 



REV. WJl/. P. ALEXANDER. 83 

both men and women knocking out their teeth, in- 
dulging in the most revolting licentiousness, and feast- 
ing to excess, while muskets were fired and sea-shells 
were kept a-blowing with a long, deep, sepulchral sound 
during the whole night. Verily I seemed to be for the 
time on the borders of the infernal regions." Mrs. Par- 
ker mentions that " Hape soon became a nuisance to 
all, and to us in particular, except when the wind fa- 
vored us, blowing in another direction." 

The hostility between the different valleys made the 
situation of the missionaries very insecure. They were 
several times informed that the Typecs were coming in 
the night to kill them, and to take their property. But 
their most serious danger was from the foreigners, who 
had taken their abode amongst the natives. As a gen- 
eral rule civilized men turned savage are more danger- 
ous than the savage-born; and their presence in heathen 
lands is a greater obstacle to Christianity than heathen- 
ism itself. Such a man was a convict from New Zea- 
land, known by the name of Morrison. The night 
after Hape died the missionaries were hastily sent 
for, because he had become suddenly sick. The day 
before a great school of porpoises had come into the 
bay, and the natives had caught them in such quanti- 
ties that their bodies were piled up on the shore; 
and for many days, even after putrefaction had begun, 
everyone helped himself to their flesh, as he pleased. 
This man gave his appetite full rein. The consequence 
was that he had an attack of apoplexy, from which 
he died at eleven o'clock at night. The natives now 
informed the missionaries that he had planned to fire 
their houses, and to murder them all, in order to ob- 
tain their few articles of property. Their hearts over- 



84 MEMOIR OF 

flowed with gratitude to God for this providential de- 
liverance. They, however, determined to give the body 
a burial in Christian style, the first such burial on the 
island. They made a coffin out of their boxes, dug a 
grave, and with prayer lowered the body into it. A na- 
tive then threw in a baked hog. Mr. Armstrong threw 
it out. It was again thrown in and again thrown out. 
The native then said, **The soul of that man will come to 
me in the night and will say, 'You are stingy, I am 
hungry.'" It was supposed that he afterwards dug into 
the grave, and buried the pig alongside of the corpse. 

The utterly treacherous character of the natives was 
once illustrated in an amusing way, by an attempt they 
made to destroy a ship. When a captain once was about 
to take his ship to sea, and had raised his anchor and set 
his sails, he observed that his ship made no progress, but 
was rather approaching the shore. Taking a spy-glass, 
and examining a crowd of savages on the beach, he dis- 
covered that they were pulling away at a rope. He then 
lowered a boat and found a rope attached under water 
to the ship. This he cut, and thereby saved his ship, 
and himself and his crew, from the savages. 

After the missionaries had resided several months on 
the island, Mr. Orsmond, an English missionary, came 
from Tahiti, to inform them that English missionaries, 
sent by the London Missionary Society, were on their 
way thither. The arrangement had been made that 
the equator should be the dividing line between the 
English and American missions. Mrs. Alexander men- 
tions that "he further stated that it would be much 
easier for their mission to send supplies to missionaries 
here than it would be for the Hawaiian Mission ; since 
they, the English missionaries, had a mission packet 



REV. IV M. P. ALEXANDER. 85 

that made regular trips to their outstations, and we had 
none. It was very plain to us that they wished us to 
give up the field to the London Missionary Society. 
The brethren spent April ist, fasting and praying over 
the matter. They decided that the economy of mis- 
sions would not allow two large societies to occupy so 
small a field together ; and therefore they concluded to 
relinquish the field to the English missionaries and to 
return to the Hawaiian Islands. It was very trying to 
us to leave, although we knew that missionaries were on 
their way to take our place. The people were in gross 
darkness; and I, for one, was willing to spend my life 
among them. Shortly after, two whale-ships came to 
the harbor for supplies; the captain of one of which, 
Captain Coffin, of the Benjamin Rush, agreed to con- 
vey us to the Hawaiian Islands without our goods. 
The other, the Royal Sovereign, Captain Green, took our 
goods to Huahine, whence a year after they were shipped 
to Honolulu." 

The missionaries now had to contrive to get aboard 
the ship without the opposition of the natives. They 
secretly packed their goods, darkening their windows 
le.^.t they should be observed; and then suddenly the 
ladies, with their infants, which had increased in number 
by two born during their stay on the island, went to the 
boat with a file of sailors on each side. They were 
quickly surrounded by a great multitude of the savages, 
armed with spears and clubs. These they conciliated 
by presents, and thereby they succeeded in getting away 
from the shore. Their husbands came afterwards with 
the baggage. 

"Oh, what a sense of relief," says Mrs. Armstrong, 
*' we felt, when we were all on board! It was a critical 



S6 MEMOIR OF 

moment; for the natives were like friction-matches, 
ready to explode on the slightest provocation; and when 
(on the i6th of April, 1834) the sails were spread, and 
the shores of Nuuhiva receded from view, we gave 
thanks to God that durin^^ a residence there of over 
eight months he had saved us from the fury of that 
heathen race." They arrived at Honolulu, May 12, 
1834. Three or four months afterwards letters came 
from the American Board, to be forwarded to them to 
the Marquesas Islands, directing them to relinquish that 
field to the London Missionary Society. Fortunately, 
they had anticipated this action of the American Board, 
and by taking passage on a whale-ship prevented the 
expense of chartering a vessel to go expressly for them. 
The Board strongly commended them for their return. 

In the Missionary Herald oi ]?i.v\\x2.xy^ 1835, we find the 
following: — 

" The Committee (the Prudential Committee) approve 
of the relinquishment of the mission; and it is but 
justice to say, that the courage, enterprise, and self- 
denying zeal with which the brethren and their wives 
prosecuted their mission for eight months in circum- 
stances the most appalling to flesh and spirit, entitle 
them to the unabated confidence and affectionate sym- 
pathy of the Board." 

Soon after their deparature, three English mission- 
aries arrived, and commenced labor in those islands. 
They remained there about five years, and then aban- 
doned the field. 

"In 1838 two Roman Catholic priests and one lay- 
man commenced mission work there, and in 1839 these 
were followed by six priests and one layman. In 1 842 
Admiral Thouars took forcible possession of the islands 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. Sy 

for France; and the priests have occupied them at sev- 
eral stations ever since." — Coan's Life in Hazvaii. 

In 1853 the Hawaiian Board sent out several ordained 
ministers, young- Hawaiians, pupils of Mr. Alexander, 
together with Rev. J. Bicknell. These have been re-in- 
forced from time to time, and have been visited and 
encouraged by delegates of the Hawaiian Board. In 
i860 there were there two hundred and twenty-one 
pupils in the schools and thirty-four members of 
churches. The success of the mission has not been 
great. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

WAIOLI. 

AFTER returning to the Hawaiian Islands, Mr. Alex- 
ander was appointed by the mission to labor at 
Waioli, on the island of Kauai, a field as yet unoccupied 
by missionaries. 

Waioli is a mountain-walled valley at the head of a 
long bay, on the northern, the rainy, side of the island. 
It is all, both valley and mountain, clothed with verdure 
of the brightest green, and made still further beautiful 
by numerous streams and water-falls, whence the name 
Waioli (singing water); the name of the chief stream, 
Hanalei (wreath-making), is also another name for the 
valley. Its appearance is thus described by Miss Isa- 
bella Bird: — 

" Hanalei has been likened by some to Paradise, and 
by others to the Vale of Cashmere. ... It has 
every element of beauty; and in the bright sunshine, 
with the dark shadows on the mountains, the water- 
falls streaking their wooded sides, the river rushing 
under kukuis and ohias (Hawaiian forest trees), and 
then lingering lovingly amidst living greenery, it looked 
as if the curse had never lighted there." 

" Its mouth, where it opens on the Pacific, is from two 
to three miles wide; but the boundary mountains grad- 
ually approach each other, so that five miles from the 
sea a narrow gorge of wonderful beauty remains. The 
(88) 



REV. JVM. P. ALEXANDER. 89 

crystal Hanalei flows placidly to the sea for the last 
three or four miles, tired by its impetuous rush from the 
mountains, and mirrors on its breast hundreds of acres 
of cane. . . . Westward of the valley there is a re- 
gion of mountains slashed by deep ravines. The upper 
ridges are densely timbered. . . . For mere loveli- 
ness I think that part of Kauai exceeds anything that 
I have ever seen." 

In climate it contests with Hilo the reputation of being 
the rainiest district in the islands. A few facts of the pre- 
vious Hawaiian history will aid to an understanding of 
the condition of the field on which Mr. Alexander now 
entered. The first missionaries had arrived March 30, 
1820, about twelve years before the arrival of Mr. 
Alexander and his companions. At Mr. Alexander's 
arrival, in 1832, there were one hundred and thirty thou- 
sand inhabitants in the islands, of whom about thirty 
thousand had learned to read and write; the New Testa- 
ment and a few elementary books had been translated 
into the Hawaiian language; most of die chiefs were 
favorable to the missionaries; and there were in all the 
islands eight hundred members of churches. 

From the station report of 1835, the following account 
of the selection of Waioli as a mission field is taken: — 

"After making a tour of Kauai and carefully inspect- 
ing the two unoccupied posts in Puna and Halelea, 
Waioli was chosen in preference to Kapaa, because 
more people can conveniently assemble there to hear 
preaching than at Kapaa. . . . On July 20, a spot 
was selected for a dwelling, which was ready for our 
reception August 22, to which was soon added a cook- 
ing house, study, and house for natives." 

In September of the year 1834, Mr. Alexander took 



90 MEMOIR OF 

his family to Kauai, landing first at Waimea, and there 
spending a few weeks with Rev. Samuel Whitney, who 
at that time, with Rev. P. J. Gulick, occupied the south- 
ern part of the island. From Mrs. Alexander's remi- 
niscences the following accounts are taken: — 

" We went from Waimea to Waioli with Mr. Whitney 
in a double canoe, sent us by old Kaikioewa, the gov- 
ernor. The ocean was calm, so that we arrived at Waioli 
early the next morning. We went directly to a new 
grass-thatched house built for us by the natives. It was 
a good-sized house, and was by us partitioned into three 
rooms by the stalks of the uluhi fern {Glichenia 
Hawaiiensis). We had very little furniture, a settee of 
iron-wood made by a carpenter, and a few chairs and 
a table brought from the United States of America. 
We had no cooking stove but did our cooking on stones 
out-of-doors. Lumber was so scarce that we had but 
one room with a board floor ; the rest of the house was 
covered with lauhala mats. We lived three years in this 
house. I never was happier than during those years. 
It was delightful to live with my doors open and to 
have no fears of the people around me. There was only 
one white man near by, until we had a carpenter come 
to build us a house. Mr. Alexander needed a house for 
a study; so we had a small one erected, of which the 
roof was covered with lauhala, and the windows made 
of oiled paper; for glass was scarce. The natives came 
constantly to the house for medicines. Doses of castoi 
oil and other drugs were given them in joints of bamboo 
used as vials. I often made bowls full of pia (arrow- 
root) and bread-toast coffee for them when they were 
sick. They brought us presents of fresh fish, chickens, 
etc., in return for our care of them in their sickness." 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 91 

" Davida, an excellent member of the Waimea church, 
had accompanied us as a helper in building up a new 
station, and with him his train, making in all seventy- 
five persons. They built a town on the Waioli plain, 
which they call Bethlehem." (Station report of 1835.) 

" My husband," Mrs. Alexander writes, " was told that 
the way to learn the language was to teach school. He 
therefore formed a school of young men; and soon he 
began to preach sermons, which at first were largely 
made up of quotations from the Bible. A good old 
man, Papohaku (Stonewall), one of Father Whitney's 
church-members, was employed to correct the sermons. 
My husband would then preach them, and then call on 
the old man, who would repeat all that he understood of 
the discourse, and offer prayer. In a short time my 
husband was able to preach without his assistance. 
Meetings were held in a large native house. The natives 
sat on the ground on mats. There were one or two 
rough settees of their ownmake, on which the leading 
men sat. In those days the natives had little of foreign 
goods, but they had cloth of their own manufacture, 
kapa made from the bark of the wauki shrub. The 
women wore the fa u (folds of kapa about the hips, leav- 
ing the shoulders and waist exposed), and they were 
beginning to make hohikus (loose dresses). The men 
wore the inalo (a girdle), and the kihei (a kapa robe 
knotted over the shoulder), and were beginning to obtain 
shirts." "Some wore shirts minus pantaloons, and some 
pantaloons minus shirts. The attention and decorum 
of a native congregation was perfect, save that it was 
not the fashion for a Hawaiian to suppress a cough, and 
the attendance of numbers of dogs, who came as parts 
of the family, would sometimes create a diversion that 



92 MEMOIR OF 

would seriously try the gravity of a more civilized 
audience." (Mrs. Emerson's sketches.) 

In the station report of 1835, the following account of 
the first year's labor is given: — 

** During the year a substantial meeting-house has 
been erected, ninety feet long by forty feet wide, covered 
with lauhala, and most of the timbers are ready for a 
school -house. The congregation Sabbath forenoons 
has usually numbered from eight hundred to one thou- 
sand, and afternoons about six hundred. Since the 
first of March we have had daylight (morning) prayer- 
meetings, usually attended by three or four hundred 
persons. . . . 

"October 19-24, Brother Whitney assisted me in 
organizing a church at Waioli, consisting of but ten 
members, five of whom were from the church at Waimea, 
and five received on examination who had been pro- 
pounded at Waimea; the Lord's Supper was adminis- 
tered. . . . Three schools have been kept up at the 
station during the year. ... I have been astonished 
at the eagerness with which the people demand new 
books. The Kumii Hawaii (riewspaper) has been sought 
for with eagerness, and seven hundred now take it in my 
parish. It was pleasant to see the mountains illuminated 
at night by those who encamped there for the purpose 
of preparing pia, to purchase a copy of it. What we do 
for this people must be done quickly, for they are fast 
passing away." 

Mr. Alexander made tours through the adjoining dis- 
tricts, and soon held regular meetings at two out- 
stations, at one of which, Pilaa, in Koolau, eight miles 
distant, he was accustomed to preach under the shade of 
a noble kukui grove, to a congregation seated on the 



REV. VVM. P. ALEXANDER. 93 

ground, so romantic a place for religious meetings that 
Commodore Wilkes afterwards had a picture of it drawn, 
representing Mr. Alexander w^ith a tree for a pulpit. 
This picture is to be found in the fourth volume of 
Wilkes' ** Exploring Expedition," page 69. 

In the report for 1836 the following passage occurs: — 
•' The common schools have been low during the past 
year from several causes. . . . But the load of 
oppression which the people have suffered, has been the 
main cause. The men have been absent from home, 
doing public work at Koloa during three or four months 
in the year; and when at home they were liable to be 
called upon to work every other week for the Governor, 
to which add heavy taxes of kapa, o/ona, pia, hogs, etc., 
all of which combined have caused them to 'groan 
being burdened,* so they had little disposition to obey 
the sound of the school-master's horn." 

Mr. Conde well describes the life of a missionary at 
those times: — 

** His work was arduous, laborious, self-sacrificing, and 
fatiguing, owing to the extent and roughness of the 
country to be traversed, and the hitherto untutored char- 
acter of the people. It consisted in teaching school; 
preaching at home and abroad on frequent tours; dealing 
out school-books to old and young; visiting the sick, 
trying to heal or at least to mitigate suffering by the use 
of medicine; helping the people (a few years afterwards) 
to acquire their little homesteads in fee simple, listen- 
ing to their little troubles, domestic and general; giving 
advice to promote harmony and good-will among all; 
teaching the arts of civilization as well as the theory and 
practice of religion; laboring with way ward church-mem- 



94 MEMOIR OF 

bers, and stirring up all to more watchfulness, prayer and 
Christian activity. ... I never found the day long- 
enough for its duties, nor the night long enough for rest 
of body." It should be added that every morning there 
were prayer-meetings at sunrise, conducted by the 
missionary, and also that Mrs. Alexander conducted 
stated meetings with the women. " There was at length 
a furor for the marriage service. Mr. Richards, of 
Lahaina, united six hundred couples in a iQ.\^ months. 
The usual fee to the officiating clergyman was a few 
roots of taro or a fowl, a little bunch of onions, or some 
such cheap article for the table, to the value of twelve 
cents." 

In 1836 they were cheered in their loneliness by a 
short visit from Mr. Tinker, and enjoyed the counsel and 
aid of Mr. Bingham and family during the month of 
October. In 1837 Mr. Edward Johnson arrived, and 
took charge of the Waioli school, thus enabling Mr. 
Alexander to give his whole attention to pastoral work. 

In the report of 1838 he writes: — 

" During the year I have preached statedly at four out- 
posts, and occasionally at the more distant points of our 
field. I hope during the coming year to preach weekly 
at six or seven different posts, so that all the people in 
my bounds, who wish, may hear the gospel every week, 
except about one hundred and seventy who inhabit the 
Pali district, inaccessible except by sea. The harvest is 
fully ripe, and, oh, for help and wisdom from on high in 
gathering it into the garner of the Lord !" 

During the years 1836 to 1838 the revival, known as 
"The Great Awakening" occurred, and prevailed over 
all the islands. Mr. Alexander has related that during 
those years the natives were accustomed to come inccs- 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 95 

santly from early in the morning until late at night, to 
converse on the subject of religion. "We saw," he has 
remarked in a sermon, preached by him in the United 
States, "displays of divine mercy, such as few are per- 
mitted to see on earth, and for which I, for one, can 
never be too thankful that I have been an eye-witness. 
The time has been when the whole people seemed to be 
moved by the presence of God, when the eager congre- 
gation would drink in every word spoken, like men dy- 
ing with thirst. They received the divine commands 
with perfect trust, like little children. They embraced 
the same Saviour in whom we trust." The desire to 
unite with the church became so strong that Mr. Alex- 
ander's great effort came to be, rather to prevent their 
joining the church when they should not, than to per- 
suade them to join. He may have erred in being too 
rigid, though few acquainted with the liawaiians will 
think so; while many have erred in being too lax in 
hastily admitting multitudes into the church. 

As was truly stated by Mr. Alexander in his report 
for 1839: "Although the great body of the people have 
professed anxiety for their souls, yet upon careful investi- 
gation, it is too evident that they have been more con- 
cerned how to get into the church than how to secure 

eternal life The whole system called Jiai 

manao (telling thoughts) I have labored to suppress, 
believing it to be productive of many serious evils and 
of very little benefit." 

In 1838 he visited Niihau, and spent five days among 
the people of that island. Besides the labors incident 
to the revival, Mr. Alexander was much occupied in the 
work of erecting a church building. In 1839 theWaioli 
people planted seven acres of sugar-cane, the avails to 



96 MEMOIR OF 

go for the building of a church. There were two white 
men on the island, who were good carpenters. One of 
these made a mill to grind by horse-power, and Mr. 
Alexander furnished them his horse. They boiled the 
cane juice in iron pots, obtained from a whale-ship, and 
dried the sugar in mat bags hung up to drain. Part of 
the money realized ($413) was applied to building a 
school-house and the rest to paying carpenters for 
building the church. " The lumber for the building 
was brought from the mountains. The men would go 
up and cut it; and when it was ready to be brought 
down, the women would go and help drag it." It was 
an exciting time in Waioli, when the whole population* 
with long ropes, with shouts and chanting, dragged the 
heavy timbers into place for the church, and also for a 
house for Mr. Alexander. Coral stone was obtained 
by divers from the sea, and made into lime for the 
masonry. The natives also contributed $88 for a 
church bell. In November, 1 841, the building was com- 
pleted — a frame house, measuring thirty-five by seventy- 
five feet, plastered inside and out. A comfortable house 
was also built for Mr. Alexander in 1837, before which 
stood two noble kukui trees, which are well remembered 
by his older children, both for their beauty and for the 
opportunity they afforded for amusement. In this new 
house two more of Mr. Alexander's children, Henry and 
Mary, were born. During this time he translated Le- 
gendre's geometry and prepared a text-book on survey- 
ing and navigation for the Lahainaluna seminary. 

In 1840 he received a visit from Messrs. Pickering 
and Brackenbridge of the U. S. Ex. Exp., and also 
from Messrs Peale and Rich. " They were much struck 
with the dress of the native women at church, its unus- 




w 
s 
o 

X 
o 

l—t 

< 

w 
X 
H 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 9; 

ual neatness and becoming appearance. It seemed 
remarkable that so many of them should be clothed in 
foreign manufacture, and that apparently of an expensive 
kind; but on closer examination the dresses proved to be 
tapas^ printed in imitation of merino shawls, ribands, 
etc."— f/. 5. Ex. Exp., Vol. IV, p. 6g. 

It now became an increasingly perplexing question to 
Mr. Alexander and the other missionaries how to edu- 
cate their children, without exposing them to the con- 
taminating influence of the natives, and without with- 
drawing from their pastoral work. In 1840 Mr. Alex- 
ander took his two oldest sons, one five and the other 
seven years old, in a palanquin, carried by two powerful 
natives, as he rode beside on a horse, a journey of forty 
miles, to Koloa, and there left them with the children of 
Mr. Gulick, under the instruction of Miss Marcia Smith, 
who had come as a teacher to the islands in the re- 
inforcement of 1 837. In conjunction with Mr. Armstrong 
and other missionaries, he had for years been urging on 
the mission the establishment of a boarding-school for 
their children ; and a report on this subject had been 
made to the general meeting held in May, 1837. The 
result was the founding of the Punahou school (after- 
wards, in 1853., chartered as Oahu College), under the 
care of Rev. D. Dole, to which Mr. Alexander took his 
oldest children at its commencement, in 1841, and after- 
wards sent all his other children. 

Nearly every year Mr. Alexander made voyages with 
his family to Honolulu, to attend the general meeting. 
In these voyages, made on small schooners or sloops, 
crowded with natives and their dogs, greater discomforts 
were experienced than in all the rest of their mission 
life. On one of these voyages Mr. Alexander, with his 
7 



98 MEMOIR OF 

family, was nine days on a decked row-boat called the 
Pilots in going from Waioli to Honolulu. In the 
latter part of this voyage provisions failed, so that they 
were obliged to subsist on corn-gruel, cooked in a stove 
extemporized by a wooden tub with a coil of iron chain 
in the bottom and on the sides. Water was placed in 
the bottom, and occasionally dashed over the sides, to 
keep the tub from catching fire. The fat of a large hog 
was used with a small supply of firewood for fuel. 
When they reached Honolulu the children, after having 
been curled up so long in a small cabin, as well as ex- 
hausted by seasickness, were hardly able to walk. 

One pleasing feature of the voyaging of those days 
was the devotional exercises of the natives. Every 
evening, at the command of someone in charge of the 
deck, a hush would suddenly fall on all on board; and 
then some pious native would arise and offer prayer. 
The effect, far out in the deep, with no sound but that 
of the dashing waves, and no surroundings but the wide 
ocean and the blue sky above, was very impressive. 

The discomforts of the voyages were fully compensated 
for by the enjoyments of the general meetings. At- 
tendance at these was to the mission like the going up 
of the tribes of Israel to Jerusalem. After long isola- 
tion from white society, it was delightful to meet those 
who had been their fellow-passengers on previous 
voyages around Cape Horn, to recount with them their 
experiences, and to plan together for their future work. 
There was in the common devotion with which they had 
forsaken all for Christ, and with which they now called 
each other "brother" and "sister," a sweeter bond than 
that of any kindred or friends; and the children, away 
from the circles of their American relatives, were also 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 99 

in fact, to each other, what they afterwards became in 
name in the Mission Children's Society, " cousins." Of 
the meetings of the mission, Rev. S. E. Bishop has 
written that in them " there reigned an indescribably 
rich fraternal enthusiastic atmosphere of social and spirit- 
ual intercourse. . . . There was a constantly strength- 
ening confidence, and more and more triumphant hope, 
of the soon-coming fullness of conquest of Hawaii for 
Christ. There was the earnest recounting in the station 
reports of labors and their fruits, and the enthusiastic plan- 
ning of new work. . . . The Lord seemed visibly with 
his servants. Causes of difference and possible conten- 
tion became merged in the onward movement. . . . 
Very delightful children's meetings were conducted, first 
by Mr. Spaulding, and afterwards by Mr. Coan, whom we 
children nearly worshiped, and to whose words many 
of us owed our first definite earnest drawings toward 
the Lord." 



CHAPTER IX. 



LAHAINALUNA. 



M 



R. ALEXANDER was obliged by failure of health 
to relinquish the Waioli parish, after having labored 
there nine years, and to seek a situation in a drier cli- 
mate. He had once had the misfortune, when on one 
of his preaching tours, to sink with his horse in quick- 
sands in crossing a stream; and though rescued by the 
natives, he was so thoroughly chilled by a ride afterwards 
eight miles in drenched clothes to his home as to con- 
tract asthma, which distressed him the remainder of 
his life. For this reason the mission voted for his re- 
moval from Waioli, to take charge of the seminary at 
Lahainaluna. He removed thither with his family in 
1843. 

Of the founding and plan of this seminary we have 
the following account by Rev. R. Anderson: "The 
school system ceased at length to be a power in the 
land, such as it had been. The five or six hundred 
teachers had taught their pupils to read and write and 
perhaps a little more, but had now exhausted their stock 
of knowledge, and the system was coming to a dead 
stand. The Mission therefore resolved to establish a 
high school at Lahainaluna, on Maui, with the special 
object of educating teachers. The school was opened in 
September, 1831, with the Rev. Lorrin Andrews as Prin- 
cipal, and twenty-five young men as pupils. Before the 
(100) 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. loi 

close of the year the pupils increased to sixty-seven. 
The course of study was to embrace four years, and was 
liberal for so youthful a nation. The American Board 
did much toward the needful buildings. . . . Houses 
were erected for a printing office and for three ordained 
married teachers. These buildings, with dormitories 
for more than a hundred students, formed a village of 
some interest. There were in 1837 one hundred and 
seven pupils, . . . There was a small theological 
class in the seminary." 

Lahainaluna is situated on the southwest, the lee- 
ward, side of Maui, about a mile and a half inland from 
the town of Lahaina, and on the slope of mountains 
that rise, with grand steep ridges and narrow gorges, to 
the height of five thousand eight hundred and twenty 
feet. The scenery of the mountains, of the garden town 
of Lahaina, of a frowning old volcanic crater on one 
side, and of the ocean, and three other islands not far 
distant, has always been greatly admired. 

Mr. Alexander was here at first associated in the care 
of this institution with Rev. J. S. Emerson, who removed 
to Oahu in 1846, and Rev. Sheldon Dibble, who died in 
1845, and afterwards with Rev. T. D. Hunt, who re- 
mained one year, and with Rev. J. F. Pogue, who after- 
wards succeeded him in presiding over the institution. 

The pupils of the seminary were the most promising 
youth from fourteen to twenty years of age who could 
be selected from the schools of the islands. Tuition 
was free; but the pupils were obliged to provide their 
own food, which they did by cultivating a fine tract of 
taro land, donated to the seminary by the chief, Hoapili. 
To the Hawaiian people this institution was a univer- 
sity, completing their education for school-teaching, for 



I02 MEMOIR OF 

law practice and civil service, and for the ministry. 
Many of the graduates became leading men in the Gov- 
ernment and in the churches. 

The students were obliged to work under overseers a 
portion of every day in farming and in carpentry, ma- 
sonry, and other trades. 

A church was organized of the pupils and of the in- 
habitants of the adjacent valleys. Sometimes there 
was much religious interest, and many made profession 
of religion, and afterwards became ministers of the gos- 
pel and foreign missionaries. Three of these, Kauwea- 
loha, Kekela, and Kaiwi, have proved worthy mission- 
aries in the Marquesas Islands. 

Mr. Alexander sent all of his children to the Punahou 
school. The home-coming of these children, and of 
those of the associate teachers, in vacations, by a tedious 
voyage with much seasickness, in small, slow-sailing 
craft, was a great event at Lahainaluna. A white flag 
at the mast-head, the usual signal of missionaries, or of 
their children, announced their coming; and long before 
they reached the port, horses were ready for them at the 
beach; and the welcomes home, with devout thanksgiv- 
ings to God, were most tender and affectionate. The 
time of vacations passed quickly for the children, in baths 
in the sea, rambles in the valleys, and excursions to the 
summits of the mountains. 

Four of Mr. Alexander's children, three daughters 
and one son, were born during his residence at Lahaina- 
luna, all of whom in course of time were sent to the 
Punahou school. The oldest sons were at length sent 
to the United States to finish their education. It is 
touching to read Mr. Alexander's letters of this time, 
expressing his feelings in these separations from his 
children. An extract from one is here given: — 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 103 

'^ Lahainaluna, February i, 1855. 
"My Dear Son: Last Sabbath was a joyful day to 
us. First, it was a fair, sunshiny day after a constant 
storm since this year began. Secondly, the steamer 
brought home our dear ones, from Punahou school, who, 
weather-bound, had already lost one week of the short 
vacation, and whom we rejoice to have now safe at home; 
and thirdly, we received letters from both you and your 
brother. . . Altogether the tender cords of our souls 
are so set a-vibrating that we spent the balance of the 
day in a sort of dreamy delirium. Oh, shall we be ever 
allowed to see you all at home together once mf^-e? 
It would make me feel somewhat like old Simeon, * Now 
let thy servant depart in peace.' " 

The sedentary employment at Lahainaluna was inju- 
rious to Mr. Alexander's health, for which reason in 1849 
he was granted by the mission one year of respite from 
school teaching. He spent this year in surveying land 
for the Hawaiian Government in Kamaole, on East Maui. 
Here, at an elevation of twenty-five hundred feet above 
the sea, he lived in a tent, and was engaged in cutting 
trails through the forest to divide the country into sec- 
tions for sale to the natives. He preached regularly 
on Sundays in this district. He also did surveying dur- 
ing the vacations of the school, and thereby both re- 
cruited his health and obtained the means to educate his 
children. It was during this period that that peaceful 
revolution took place, which changed the Hawaiian Gov- 
ernment from an absolute into a constitutional monarchy, 
and gave the poor serfs their homesteads in fee simple. 
In this grand movement Mr. Alexander was intensely 
interested; and he gave to its leaders his hearty sympathy 
and co-operation. Judge Lee, if not the prime mover, 
was certainly the guiding mind in this reform; and 



I04 MEMOIR OF 

between him and Mr. Alexander there existed that 
strong mutual sympathy and esteem which two such 
noble spirits naturally feel for each other. 

A biography of Mr. Alexander can hardly be 
properly made without reference to his brother mission- 
aries, with whose lives his own was closely connected. 
Often his house was their resort on their way to and 
from Honolulu. Of them all no one was more welcome 
than Rev. R. Armstrong, his classmate in Princeton 
Seminary and fellow-passenger on the Averick, with 
whom he was in hearty sympathy in the work of 
Hawaiian education, and for whom he ever cherished 
more than a brother's friendship. 

During the year 1845 Rev. Samuel Whitney, one of 
the pioneer missionaries, and a very dear friend and 
fellow-voyager of Mr. Alexander, arrived at Lahainaluna 
from Oahu in serious sickness. He died in Mr. Alex- 
ander's house a death which Mr. Alexander described as 
surpassingly glorious in Christian hope and joy. The 
funeral sermon, preached by Mr. Alexander, is valuable 
for the account it gives of one of the best men ever 
known in the islands. 

On the 29th of August, 1855, another beloved mis- 
sionary brother of his died. Rev. H. R. Hitchcock. 
Mr. Alexander went over to the funeral at Molokai, and 
wrote of him to one of his children, " He died rejoicing 
in the hopes of the gospel. His dominant passion has 
always been to preach, and his great desire to live longer 
seemed to be simply that he might preach more." Mr. 
Alexander wrote an obituary not ce of him for the 
Friend. Nor can we fail to mention his neighbor and 
life-long friend, Rev. D. Baldwin, of Lahaina, doubly 
connected with him by family ties, who has since 
rejoined him in a better world, 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 105 

Besides his labors in the Lahainaiuna Seminary, Mr. 
Alexander did considerable in preparing books for the 
Hawaiians. He published a ** Pastor's Manual," com- 
mon school and Sabbath-school books, the two standard 
books on *' The Evidences of Christianity," and *' A Sys- 
tem of Theology;" of each of which there have been 
two editions. 



CHAPTER X. 



WAILUKU. 



IN 1856, by advice of physicians, Mr. Alexander 
resigned his post at Lahainaluna, after havinj^ there 
labored thirteen years, and took charge for a few months 
of the* ranch of Ulapalakua, as an excellent place to 
recruit his health. 

In November of the same year he accepted a call to 
the church at Wailuku, where he continued to reside 
and labor the twenty-seven remaining years of his life. 

The Wailuku parish consisted of four churches situated 
on the slopes, below the valleys of the West Maui 
Mountains, and was called for the running streams of 
those valleys, Nawaieha (The -four-waters). Mr. Alex- 
ander occupied the old mission home in Wailuku, built 
by Rev. R. Armstrong at the mouth of the lao Valley, 
and three miles from the seaport of Kahului. Beyond 
this port is East Maui, with its great mountain, Halea- 
kela (House-of-the-sun), ten thousand feet in height, on 
the summit of which is the largest extinct crater in the 
world. A description of lao Valley, by Miss I. Bird, is 
here inserted, because it was a place of frequent resort 
for rest and recreation: — 

" At lao people may throw away pen and pencil in 
equal despair. The trail leads up a gorge dark with 
forest trees, and then opens out into an amphitheater 
(106) 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 107 

walled in by precipices from three to six thousand feet 
high, misty with numerous waterfalls, plumed with 
kukuis and feathery with ferns; a green-clad needle of 
stone one thousand feet in height, the last refuge of an 
army routed when the Wailuku (Waters-of-slaughter) 
ran red with blood, keeps guard over the valley. Other 
needles there are, and mimic ruins of bastions and ram- 
parts, and towers came and passed in sunshine and 
shadow. . . . And over the grey crags and piled up 
pinnacles, and glorified green of the marvelous vision, 
lay a veil of thin blue haze, steeping the whole in a 
serenity that hardly seemed to belong to earth. This 
valley is not surpassed for grandeur in the islands." 

Mr Alexander preached Sabbath mornings in the 
Wailuku church, and Sabbath afternoons alternately in 
the three towns, Waikapu, Waichu and Waihee, and 
occasionally near Kahului. There were also morning 
prayer-meetings and Wednesday afternoon meetings 
together with pastoral visitation, and, until a physician 
arrived in the region, much medical care of the sick. 

In 1858 he was sent by the mission to the United 
States of America to seek an endowment for Oahu 
College and to select a President for the same. With 
his wife and two daughters and a son of Rev. E. Bond 
in his care, he took passage in December of that year 
on the Mountain Wavc^ Captain Hardy, for a voy- 
age around Cape Horn, and arrived at New Bedford 
the following April, after twenty-nine years' absence 
from his native land. The visits to the old homes and 
re-unions with relatives and friends, and especially the 
meeting once more of his wife with her aged mother 
were very delightful, and yet partly sad, because of the 
changes thirty years had wrought. He remarked at 



io8 MEMOIR OF 

this time, that, looking back over the past, he could say 
with Joshua, " that not one thing had failed of all 
the good things which the Lord God had promised." 
He returned with his wife to the Hawaiian Islands, by 
way of Aspinwall and California, in December, 1859. 

During the year after his arrival home, he united with 
the other foreign and native pastors of the island, in 
organizing the " Presbytery of Maui and Molokai," 
which continues prosperous and in good working to the 
present time. 

This Presbytery contained both Presbyterian and 
Congregational Churches, as under it each pastor was 
free to adopt the form of church government to which 
he was accustomed. It was also combined with the 
associations established on the other islands, under the 
one general " Hawaiian Evangelical Association." 
There has thus happily been a union of two denomina- 
tions in harmonious working in the whole history of 
the Hawaiian Mission. Mr. Alexander's sentiments, 
and those of the mission, were very liberal, as was 
shown by a statement he made at the meeting of the 
American Board in Philadelphia, in 1859, that during 
his voyage to the islands on the Averick, in 1832, it 
never occurred to any of the nineteen missionaries of 
his company, to inquire of each other's denominational 
status, which were Congregational and which Pres- 
byterian, and that this was not ascertained till they had 
been at work one or two years. They lost nothing by 
not entering into denominational strife. 

During the same year the churches under his care 
were blessed with a revival, which is thus described by 
Dr. Anderson: "Mr. Alexander returned to his field at 
Wailuku, on Maui, in June, i860, after an absence in the 



REV. JVM. P. ALEXANDER. 109 

United States of eighteen months, and was deeply im- 
pressed with the low state of piety among the people. 
But brighter days were near. In October there was 
cheering evidence of an unseen power moving on the 
hearts of the people. The morning prayer-meetings, 
which had been greatly neglected, were attended by in- 
creased numbers, and there was an evident increase of 
solemnity in those who attended public worship on the 
Sabbath. Backsliders spontaneously confessed their 
wanderings, and asked an interest in the prayers of God's 
people. Some of the most careless and profligate 
evinced great concern for their soul's salvation, and 
Christians prayed as they had not before been heard to 
do. Fair professors of religion, who had been living in 
secret sin, were constrained to come forward and con- 
fess their wickedness, and beg the prayers of their 
brethren. The members of the church were drawn to- 
gether, and together they sought the Lord. For suc- 
cessive weeks they met for prayer and exhortation three 
times a day, and sometimes they protracted the after- 
noon meetings till eight or nine o'clock in the evening; 
and a few times they continued all night in prayer and 
mutual exhortations. Fearing evil would result from 
such protracted meetings the missionary advised their 
discontinuance. Young converts sought out former 
companions in wickedness, and endeavored to bring 
them to Christ. Brethren of the church went in com- 
panies of three, four or five, and visited every house, 
whether of professed Christians, Baptists or Mormons. 
Multitudes were thus brought under the influence of the 
gospel, who, living far up the valleys and ravines, were 
almost inaccessible to their pastor. A wonderful change 
indeed came over the whole communnity. 



no MEMOIR OF 

" For six months and more prayer-meetings were held 
as early as the dawn of day in as many as eight differ- 
ent places, and the people seemed to take delight in 
meeting each other at that early hour. Scripture knowl- 
edge was valued and sought, as it had never been be- 
fore. Many entered on the practice of reading the 
whole Bible through in a year. Pious women also were 
very active in promoting the revival." 

By appointment of the mission Mr. Alexander com- 
menced a theological school in 1863, which, in addition 
to pastoral labor, he taught five days each week for 
eleven years, "instructing in all sixty-seven pupils, 
more than half of whom entered the ministry and did 
good work in the native churches and Micronesia." . . 
The members of the Wailuku church generously boarded 
the pupils. 

In this connection it is interesting to quote the testi- 
mony contained in Dr. Anderson's "Hawaiian Islands" 
to the character of the Hawaiian ministers, as given by 
Dr. Wetmore. 

" Our ministers and delegates are as a body a very 
respectable class of men; we are not ashamed of them. 
They stand up nobly on every question of importance, 
and discuss and vote as intelligently (I was about to 
say) as the majority of the missionary Fathers ; and I 
think such an assertion would not be untruthful. Four 
years ago there was considerable trepidation in regard 
to allowing them to have an equal part and lot in min- 
isterial work; but now such fears have vanished, and the 
hand of fellowship is extended heartily. We rejoice 
greatly over it. As Paul said, :' We thank God and take 
courage.' " 

Of the ministers educated at this school and at La- 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. iii 

hainaluna special mention should be made of Kuaia, 
who, when an infant, had been buried alive by his parents 
and rescued by the missionaries, and who became one of 
the most eloquent preachers of the nation; and of Kau- 
wealoha, who labored with great devotion in the Mar- 
quesas Islands, and who, when the Hawaiian Board con- 
templated withdrawing from that mission, declared that 
he would continue to labor there, even if not supported; 
that as he began life clothed only in a malo, he would re- 
turn to such a dress before relinquishing his work; and 
of David Malo, one of the most original of the Hawaiian 
preachers. A specimen of the style of the latter is here 
given in his discourse on the story of Dives. " Why," he 
asked, "did the rich man in hell wish someone to be sent 
to warn his brethren? There is no benevolence in hell. 
Nothing but selfishness could have prompted the de- 
sire. Ah !" he exclaimed, ** I see the reason. He thought 
he would thus himself get out. He expected that he 
himself would be sent to warn his brethren." Seeking 
to account for the irreligious lives of some of the white 
men, he held two dollars over his eyes, and exclaimed, 
" This is their predicament. They can see nothing; for 
money blinds their eyes." A Christian was represented 
as like a stalk of sugar-cane, sweet in the outside rind, 
and sweet to the core. He preached a sermon to prove 
the existence of God, which was published for its origi- 
nal arguments, well adapted to the native mind. Mention 
should also be made of Pilipoand Kauhane, who, almost 
single-handed, through several successive sessions of the 
Legislature resisted the corrupt government, and who 
also showed great ability as preachers. 

Associated with Mr. Alexander, at this mission station, 
was Mr. Edward Bailey, who, as a missionary teacher, 



112 MEMOIR OF 

had done important work at Kohala and Lahainaluna, 
and in a female seminary at this place, and who, with 
his family, living in adjoining premises, was always in 
delightful sympathy and co-operation with Mr. Alexan- 
der in enterprises for the good of the people. They 
labored together in establishing and building up the 
East Maui Female Seminary, and in organizing the 
Foreign Church of Wailuku. 

In 1869 Mr. Alexander resigned his pastorate of the 
Wailuku church, in order to give more attention to 
the Theological School, and in order to carry out the 
plan of installing a native ministry. Yet he continued 
to preach once every Sabbath, to assist in the pastoral 
care of the churches, and to take an active part in the 
sessions of the Presbytery and of the Evangelical Asso- 
ciation. 

In 1874 he was obliged, by failing health, to relinquish 
the Theological School; and it was removed to Honolulu, 
and there for a while conducted by Rev. J. D. Paris and 
others, and afterwards by Rev. C. M. Hyde, D. D., with 
the aid of Rev. H. H. Parker. 



CHAPTER XI. 

VOYAGES TO THE MARQUESAS AND MICRONESIAN 

* ISLANDS. 



I 



N the year 1871 Mr. Alexander was sent as a dele- 
gate of the mission on the Morning Star, to the ]\Iar- 
quesas Islands. It was very interesting to again see 
the field of his labors forty years before, and delightful 
to meet his pupils, the noble missionaries Kauwealoha 
and Kekela, and to see the success of their work among 
the worst savages of the Pacific. He was again sent the 
following year as a delegate to Micronesia. We have a 
full journal of his trip through those islands, from which 
a few extracts are here given: — 

" Brig Morning Star, July ^, i8j2. — We had a delight- 
ful farewell meeting at the wharf in Honolulu. As we 
passed out by the Nebraska, her band struck up a lively 
air that was very rousing, and just beyond, on the 
esplanade, Brother Bingham and other friends gave us a 
last salutation in rapturous song, ' Waft, waft, ye winds, 
the story,' etc. Brother Pogue went out with us and 
returned with the pilot." He then recounts very inter- 
esting visits at many islands, on some of which he met 
with wild, unclothed savages, and on some with orderly, 
well-dressed congregations of Christian converts. 

He first spent a month in cruising through the Gilbert 
Islands, visiting first five islands occupied by nine Sa- 
moan teachers, of whom he speaks very highly, and 
8 (113) 



114 MEMOIR OF 

then six islands in which ten Hawaiian missionaries were 
laboring with an encouraging degree of success. He 
conversed with the Samoan teachers, through Kanoa, in 
the Gilbert language. 

At Apaiang they found the U. S. stQdiVCiQYNarragansett, 
Captain Meade, at anchor. Captain Meade had come 
to compel the chief, who had destroyed Mr. Bingham's 
house, to make restitution. He had collected $79 from 
him, and arranged to have the balance paid the following 
year. He had also compelled that chief and his party 
to leave the island and return to Tarawa. 

Here they took on board a worthy couple to assist 
Mr. Bingham in his work of translating the Bible into 
the Gilbert language. They then proceeded to But- 
aritari, the northernmost island, where they arrived on 
the 15th of August. The people appeared glad to 
receive back their faithful missionary, Kanoa, and his 
wife. 

" We visited the council-house, the largest that we 
have seen, two hundred and fifty feet long, one hundred 
wide, and ninety high. . . . Here I called upon the 
king, Nakaiea, famous for having hanged one of his 
wives, and for having shot three Hawaiian sailors. He 
was jealous of this wife, and on one occasion, as he was 
playing with her on a schooner, he made a noose with 
a rope, and proposed to her to put her head into it, which 
she did, thinking it a joke. He then made his men 
hoist her up, and kept her swinging till she was dead. 
He has now about twenty wives, who are kept like 
prisoners in jail. His house is surrounded by a high 
stone wallj and looks more like a fort than a dwelling. 
When king Kamehameha V. wrote to him, remonstrating 
with him for shooting Hawaiians, he sent him word 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 115 

that he was re^dy to fight him in single combat. He 
would weigh two hundred pounds; he is a great drunkard, 
and wholly addicted to heathen dances, etc. His brother, 
however, attends the instructions of the missionaries, 
and is hopefully pious." 

The Morning Star had a narrow escape from being 
wrecked at Mili, which he recounts as follows: — 

''August 2j. — Yesterday morning at quarter past 
three I was aroused by hearing Mr. Grey, the second 
officer, shout, ' Captain, I see breakers I ' I was soon 
dressed. ' Starboard the helm ! ' the captain cried. 
Alas ! there were breakers on both sides, and land all 
around. The sails were turned aback; the heavens 
v/ere dark; the rain pouring in torrents. We grounded. 
The boat was lowered, and the water was sounded all 
around the vessel. A depth of ten or twelve fathoms 
was found in one direction near at hand. We got out 
the kedge, and as the tide was rising were soon afloat 
again, and warped into deep water. Here we anchored, 
and, like Paul, wished for day. When it came we found 
ourselves in a lagoon of Mili." 

They had come into a small lagoon inclosed by coral 
reef, near the large lagoon of Mili. This small lagoon 
had so narrow an entrance that a vessel entering it 
would strike the reef by going a ship's length either 
way. By almost a miracle, driving blindly in the dark- 
ness of the night, they had come into it safely. 

" We had supposed we were many miles to the east- 
ward of Mili. The captain took observations for longi- 
tude both at eight A. M. and four P. M. the day previous, 
but he must have made a mistake. We examined all 
our surroundings and found that we could get out only 
where we had entered, and that only at high tide, and 



ii6 MEMOIR OF 

that the tide in the afternoon was too late for making the 
attempt. We therefore warped up to a point near the 
passage, ready for a breeze this morning, to take us out. 
It is now half-past six; the tide is up, the sea smooth; 
but, alas! no wind. What shall we do? . . . We 
may bury the beautiful Morning Star here, and get 
back to Honolulu, who can tell when or how? In the 
evening a large prau visited us, and gave us pilots who 
profess to be able to guide us into the proper place of 
anchorage. I never felt more my dependence upon 
God. In him is all our help. . . . 

'^August 2^. — This morning at high tide the sea was 
smooth, but there was no wind ; so after getting ready to 
attempt to escape from our prison, we clewed up the 
sails again. Then a squall and lively breeze sprung up; 
but we dared not raise our anchor, lest while doing it 
the wind should drift us onto the rocks on the other 
side of the channel. We therefore wait another day 
hoping then to have a kedge and hawser ready to hold 
on by till we get the anchor out. The rain is pouring 
and has been pouring ever since we entered here. We 
recognize the kind hand of our heavenly Father in 
bringing us safely in, instead of wrecking us on the 
reef, and will praise him for it while we live. 

^'August ^5, Sabbath. — A light breeze this morning 
blows directly in where we hope to go out, and forbids 
our attempt; so we wait another day. It is high tide 
and seven o'clock. We must therefore go out in the 
morning. This is the first of the Marshall Islands we 
have visited. Though only one hundred and eighty 
miles from the Gilbert Islands, the language is so differ- 
ent that the people cannot converse together. They are 
of smaller stature and differ in costume. We find 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 117 

some of them naked. They wear a mother Eve's girdle 
of hau bark attached to a bustle around the waist and 
hanging down to the knees. This bustle is made of 
lauhala and is so thick as to give the appearance of the 
Grecian bend. The people also wear their hair bound 
up in a tuft on the top of the head. The holes for 
ear-rings are so large that I thrust my whole hand 
through one. Another that I measured was five and a 
half inches in diameter, and another seven. . . . 

"Friday, August jo. — On Wednesday morning the 
wind was fair, and we attempted to come out. In the 
swell we rubbed bottom, and rubbed harder. On we 
went grinding, and at last stuck fast, the swell lifting 
and dropping us down on the coral. I thought our 
vessel would be broken up; but with a kcdge we got 
back into deep water in our prison. We tacked back 
and returned, to make another attempt to escape, and, 
aided by a kind Providence, we were successful. A high 
chief of Mili was our pilot. We entered the Mili lagoon, 
and anchored near Kahelemauna's at dark. Kahelc- 
mauna came to us on our way. Thursday I went on 
shore. I was delighted with the work of the Lord on 
Mili. One hundred pupils recited large portions of 
Scripture; they have learned to read and write and 
cipher; they arc organized into fourteen classes, each 
having a teacher; they are warmly attached to their 
teachers; and many are anxious to flee the wrath to 
come. The Lord is with his servant here. 

''^ September 2. — We reached Ebon at nine A. M. Soon 
Messrs. Snow and Whitney came off to welcome us. 
Oh, how hearty was their welcome ! . . . The peo- 
ple of Ebon are more civilized than any we have met in 
Micronesia. All are dressed. The gospel has been 



ii8 MEMOIR OF 

heartily embraced by many. ... At Namerik I 
had a very affecting meeting with Kaaia [his former 
pupil, a missionary], who em.braced me and wept like a 
child. He has been very sick, so also his wife. They 
are both pretty well now. In going ashore we had to 
wade half a mile. We then crossed over to the other 
side of the island, where Kaaia lives. His house was 
soon filled with eager natives, all well clad. Mr. Snow 
and I addressed them and prayed with them. I 
vaccinated about twenty of them and gave a lancet to 
Kaaia to carry on the work. . . . Several of the 
ladies, after I had vaccinated them, made a graceful 
bow and said, * Thank you, sir,' in their language. 

" September p. — We arrived at Kusaie, or Strong's 
Island. There are only about three hundred people on 
the island, although there were formerly twelve hundred, 
but they are more highly civilized than any other 
Micronesians we have seen. They all talk a little 
English, and the children from six years old and upward 
read and sing sweetly and are very polite. They have 
an ordained pastor of their own people, the Rev. Libiak 
Sa. The island is about three thousand feet high, and 
is covered with verdure to the summit. 

" Leaving Mr. and Mrs. Snow to renew their labors on 
Kusaie, we proceeded westward, and on the 14th touched 
at Mugil, where Bonabean teachers have been laboring 
with remarkable success. The chief of Mugil and the 
teachers and several of the people took passage with us 
to Bonabe, where we arrived September 15. 

My visit at Bonabe was like wandering in a fairy 
land. The verdure is excessive. We cannot get through 
the bush except along the paths. The people go around 
with knives to cut their way. Bread-fruit, oranges, taro, 



REV. JVM. P. ALEXANDER. 119 

bananas, pine-apples, papaias, arrowroot, and sago-palms 
abound; also the durion, a forest tree loaded with pear- 
shaped fruit, nine inches long by five inches thick; also 
the shaddock, cheremoya, etc. I attended the examina- 
tion of Mr. Doane's school. He has taught music more 
scientifically than has been done in any of the other 
mission stations. His pupils sing by note. . . . At 
the Kiti church eight couples were married. I tied the 
knot for the first two pairs, who were chiefs. We passed 
near Shalong, Dr. Gulick's station, and saw the row of 
cocoanuts he planted; we dined at Shapalap, one of Mr. 
Sturges' stations. Several couples were married. I 
married the first couple, the king of Mugil and his bride. 
We organized the church of Mugil, and administered 
the Lord's Supper. This church consists of ten mem- 
bers. . . . Brother Doane holds on to his work and 
sends his feeble wife with us to seek a cooler climate. 
. . . The Lord bless these dear brethren in their 
solitary labors." 

On returning from Bonabe, they landed their friends 
of Mugil at their homes, and also touched at Pingelap, 
where they landed seven natives of that island, who had 
been instructed at Bonabe. They called at Kusaie, took 
Mr. and Mrs. Snow back to Ebon, and then sailed for 
Honolulu, arriving there November 17, after an absence 
of one hundred and thirty-seven days. The following 
summary is taken from his report: — 

" The Micronesian nations differ from each other in 
their living, their manufactures, and in their civil polity. 
The Gilbert Islands yield for the inhabitants httle else 
than the pandanus and the cocoanut, while bread- 
fruit, taro, bananas and yams and many other varieties 
of food abound on the Marshall Islands, Kusaie and 



I20 MEMOIR OF 

Bonabe. The Gilbert islanders are the lowest in manu- 
factures; their little canoes are made by sewing together 
narrow pieces of cocoanut boards with sinnet; their 
houses are simply roofs of pandanus thatch, with open 
sides; their clothing (most of the men have none) a 
sort of Adam and Eve's apron made of cocoanut leaves; 
their beds a coarse pandanus mat, and another like it 
for a covering. Their weapons of war, offensive and 
defensive, exhibit more skill than any other manu- 
facture. Their helmet and coat of mail, made of the 
cocoanut fiber, is of such firm and substantial fabric 
that it cannot be penetrated by their spears; and I 
doubt whether a pistol ball would penetrate it; their 
spears, too, varying from a foot to ten or twelve feet 
in length, armed with sharks' teeth, or with the poi- 
sonous stingaree, are fearful-looking weapons. 

"The Marshall islanders are all clad; among them we 
find the bustle added to the fig-leaf apron, very fine 
embroidered mats, nice fans and curious baskets and 
satchels, more substantial houses, and much larger canoes, 
almost equal, in fact, to our schooners. And when we 
reach Kusaie and Bonabe, we find looms for weaving 
elegant belts of thread made from the Manilla banana, 
and mats for carpet, superior to that we import from 
China. 

"The Gilbert islanders are Democratic. The people 
meet in the council-houses and discuss and decide all 
measures of state. This is eminently the case till we 
approach the north end of the group, near the Marshall 
Islands; there they have imbibed the infection of royalty; 
but even there the chiefs are not regarded with the abject 
reverence which is paid to them in the groups farther 
west. In Milie, one of the Marshall Islands, the will of 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 121 

the king is law. He has forbidden the men to wear 
pantaloons, and none dare to wear them. The people, 
both there and on Kusaie and Bonabc, are all serfs. The 
chiefs own all the land. When a common native ap- 
proaches his chief, he comes on all fours. 

"The experience we have had during the voyage im- 
presses me with the belief that a steam launch is needed 
for the Morning Star." 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE WAILUKU HOME. 

" How beautiful is the old age of piety, the faith and devotion that 
through a long life have waited upon God, merging into the peace of 
Christ's coming and the joy of the heavenly rest. No fears, no cares, no 
doubts; but a trust in God so calm and full that even death is waited for 
in holy expectation, as the consolation promised to Israel, as the longed- 
for vision of Christ." — -J. P. Thompson, on Svneon. 

The quaint old mansion of Mr. Alexander, at Wai- 
luku, at length became a sort of ideal home, beautiful 
with many varieties of tropical fruit trees, with palms 
and ornamental shrubbery and flowering vines, delight- 
ful as the center of a large circle of children, dwelling 
mostly on the same island, and as a place of unbounded 
hospitality, and attractive by the magnetic kindness, the 
sunny humor, and the beauty and power of the piety 
there displayed. In this home the desire long previously 
expressed by Mr. Alexander, for a reunion of his family, 
was at length fulfilled; and in 1873 a gathering was held 
of all his family, the first and the only complete gather- 
ing of them ever held, then twenty-nine in number, 
counting parents, children and grandchildren, amongst 
whom there had not yet been a single death. The 
hearts of all overflowed in thanksgiving to God. 

A yet more memorable gathering was held in the year 
i88i,on October 25, at Haiku, for his golden wedding, 
an account of which, kindly prepared by Rev. T. Rouse, 
is here given: — 

"The happy event on Maui the past week has been 
(122) 



H 



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c 

c 

c 

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^-. uHiiaisiispiSj 




REV. WM. P. ALEXNDER. 123 

the celebration of the golden wedding of t!ic veteran 

missionaries, Rev. W. P. and Mrs. Mary A. Alexander, 

the 25th day of October being the fiftieth anniversary 

of their marriage. The event was announced by the 

previous issue of elegant cards of invitation printed in 

gold, as follows : — 

1831-1881. 

GOLDEN WEDDING. 

Rev. and Mrs. W. P. Alexander 
will receive their friends at the 

FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 

of their marriage, on Tuesday afternoon 

at two o'clock, 

October 25, 1881, 

at the residence of their son, 

Rev. James M. Alexander, Haiku, Maui. 

The day was perfect. The beautiful grounds at Glen- 
side were in complete order, and the house seemed 
embowered in vines and flowers as you approached. At 
the appointed hour the guests began to arrive. Rev. 
and Mrs. Alexander welcomed them at the door, and 
they passed into halls and parlors that were like a 
bower of green and gold. Wreaths of fern and maile, 
braided with golden-colored flowers, adorned the walls 
and passages. Over one entrance you were greeted with 
'Aloha ' and ' Welcome,' in golden letters. Between the 
parlors was an ingenious monogram in gold, of the ini- 
tials of the bride and groom, and the dates, 1831-1881, 
connected by fifty small gilt stars. On the wall of the 
back parlor was the appropriate motto in green, * Chil- 
dren are the crown of old men, and the glory of children 
are their fathers,' The house was ablaze with golden 
colors, and every table, corner and bracket was brilliant 
with flowers and foliage; beneath a green arch across 



124 MEMOIR OF 

one corner of the parlor were suspended two rows of 
golden stars, The upper row, of eighteen stars, repre- 
sented the children, both husbands and wives, the nine 
children having become eighteen by marriage, and the 
under row, of twenty-eight lesser stars, represented the 
grandchildren living. Directly under these hung the 
marriage bell, a beautiful structure of evergreen and 
roses. Beneath this canopy of beauty, constructed by 
the loving hands of their children, sat the handsome old 
couple, the observed and loved of all observers, looking 
fresh and hearty, and as if they were good for the dia- 
mond wedding twenty-five years hence. 

•' Promptly at two o'clock, the rooms and verandas 
being filled with guests, the exercises commenced. They 
were simple, appropriate, and full of tender feeling, 
enlivened now and then by flashes of wit and touching 
references, drawing alternately smiles and tears. First 
came an anthem, ' Let every heart rejoice and sing.' 
Next an address to the parents, in behalf of the children, 
by the eldest son. Prof W. D. Alexander, as follows: — 

"'My Dear Parents: It is no common occasion 
that has called us together to-day to rejoice in the won- 
derful goodness of our heavenly Father to us, and to 
present you with these little tokens of the gratitude and 
affection which to you is far more " precious than the 
gold which perisheth." 

*' ' Fifty years ago to-day, on the banks of the blue 
Susquehannah, you plighted faith in a union "longer 
than life and stronger than death," and at the same time 
consecrated your joint lives to your divine Master's 
service. 

"'If ever "matches are made in Heaven," this was 
one ov^er which angels might rejoice, for God's benedic- 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 125 

tion rested upon it, and has followed it ever since. It 
was his presence felt, though unseen, that has sustained 
you through all the trials and perils you have been called 
to pass through in all the horrors of that first voyage 
around Cape Horn; again when you took your lives in 
your hands and went among Marquesan cannibals ; and 
through all your lonely and self-denying labors as mis- 
sionaries on these islands. And now in your peaceful 
old age, rich as it is in ''honor, love, obedience, troops of 
friends," the same divine presence seems to shed a radi- 
ance on your path and to give you glimpses of the 
celestial city, such as Bunyan's pilgrim enjoyed in the 
land of Beulah. 

" ' Like Jacob of old, who said, "With my staff I passed 
over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands," so 
now you can call the roll of nine children by marriage, 
and twenty-eight grandchildren, living. And during 
these fifty years death has entered our family circle but 
once, when it snatched away a grandchild in infancy. 
The words of Tennyson may be fitly applied to each of 
you: — 

" I see thee sitting, crowned with good, 
A central warmth, diffusing bliss, 
In glance and smile and clasp and kiss 
On all the branches of thy blood." 

"'As you look back on the past half century, what 
wonderful changes you must call to mind. You have 
witnessed nearly all the steps of the process by which 
this land has been transformed from heathen barbarism 
to Christian civilization, of which work you might truly 
say pars magna fuimus. The railroad, the telegraph, 
and a hundred other inventions for conquering time and 
space, and saving human labor, have all originated during 
your life-time ; and now, instead of one mail a year 



126 MEMOIR OF 

reaching you, six months after date, around Cape Horn, 
a week's voyage puts us in immediate connection with 
the whole civilized world. What would we not give to 
have your photographs as you appeared at the wedding 
ceremony fifty years ago to compare with the portraits 
painted for this anniversary. 

" ' But after all, these wonderful inventions of our days 
do not produce greater souls nor nobler characters; they 
do not make us better or braver or wiser than our fath- 
ers and mothers. 

" ' There are some thoughts and feelings too sacred and 
tender to be fully expressed in words. Only God can 
know all that you have done for each of us from infancy 
till now. Those who have known you best have loved 
and revered you the most. 

" * By example, much more than by precept, you have 
taught us to live for something higher than what the 
world counts success, and to seek the favor of God more 
than the praise of men. We thank you that you have 
taught us to be rather than to seem, to abhor all that is 
false and all that is sordid or base; and to cultivate 
charity, forbearance, humility, and other old-fashioned 
virtues, 

"And thus to bear without abuse 
The grand old name of gentleman, 
Defamed by every charlatan 
And soiled by all ignoble use. " 

"'Accept, dear parents, this imperfect expression of 
our gratitude and love. May your last days be your best 
days, and " at eventide may it be light," about you, till 

'* Hope be changed to glad fruition, 
Faith to sight, and earih to Heaven.'" 

"After this came remarks congratulatory and remi- 
niscent by the pastor at Makawao, Rev. T. H- Rouse, 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 127 

followed by prayer; and this part of the exercises was 
concluded by an original song", written for the occasion 
by Rev. J. M. Alexander, to the tune of Auld Lang 
Syne, which was rendered as a solo by Miss Sheeley, of 
the Seminary, the children joining in the chorus. 

'* ' Should life's long pathway be forgot, 

Which hand in hand was trod 
Through fifty years of wedded love 

By gracious help of God, 
When bright and golden memories shine 
P'rom days of Auld Lang Syne ? 

"* With strength from old Kentucky State, 

And beauty won from where 
Flow vSusquehannah's waters bright, 

Began that pathway fair; 
And sweet and tender memories shine 
From days of Auld Lang Syne. 

•* * Guided by holy zeal that path 

Led far o'er ocean blue, 
Six months on Av 'rick's rocking deck 

To islands strange and new, 
And long the hearts of love did pine 
For friends of Auld Lang Syne. 

" 'Soon from Oahu's shores it led 
To where Marquesans grim 
Asked the first child, to make him king, 

Or else for eating him; 
And strange and weird some memories shine 
From days of Auld Lang Syne. 

" ' Again o'er seas it led to give 
Waioli joy and hope. 
To light Lahainaluna's hill, 

And bless Wailuku's slope ; 
And holy, blessed memories shine 
From days of Auld Lang Syne. 

"' Long has the joyous pathway been 

O'er lands and ocean blue; 
And now its wayside flowers of love 

Yield fruits of golden hue; 
And riper, sweeter blessings shine 
Than those of Auld Lang Syne. 

'"While now the tread of age grows weak, 
And gray the brows enfold, 



128 , MEMOIR OF 

The sweet and tender love of youth 

Has ne'er "grown dim or old;" 
For now the hearts more warmly shine 
Than in the Auld Lang Syne. 

*' 'That path, when viewed through fifty years 
Of care for children nine, 
And holy toil for Heaven's cause, 
*' Seems all transformed " to shine, 
For holy light did e'er enshrine 
Those days of Auld Lang Syne. 

" * We praise the Lord, whose hand has led 

Through all this path of love ; 
Long may he lead through scenes of earth 

And to the home above, 
Where brighter joys will ever shine 
Than those of Auld Lang Syne.' 

"Then followed another service of a different kind, 
but most touching and beautiful. It was the baptism, 
by the honored father, of his twenty-eighth and twenty- 
ninth grandchildren, a son and a daughter of Mr. Henry 
P. Baldwin and Rev. James M. Alexander respectively 
(Frederick Chambers Baldwin and Sarah Eva Alexander) 
The patriarchal old man, the lovely children, his tender 
words, the sweet consecration, was a spectacle that 
moved every heart, and appropriately crowned the exer- 
cises of this happy day. 

*' Congratulations were now in order, and many were 
the hearty shakes and loving words and tender wishes 
for health and prosperity, that were showered on the 
happy couple by neighbors, friends, guests, children, and 
grandchildren, young and old. . 

" Refreshments follow-ed. A table with cloth draped 
in gold was loaded with everything that the season 
afforded. Conspicuous was a large bride's loaf beauti- 
fully decorated with a golden monogram, with the dates 
183 1 and 1 88 1. This was flanked by two others of the 
same kind, while numerous frosted loaves brought up 
the rear, with sandwiches, fruit, lemonade, tea and coffee 



REV. JVM. P. ALEXANDER. 129 

in gilded cups, to all of which ample justice was done 
by the numerous guests, numbering over eighty. During 
the whole afternoon one great center of attraction was 
a table standing near the bridal corner containing golden 
presents from the children and their friends. First was 
a gold watch for the honored father, an elaborate and 
beautiful piece of work, richly chased on both covers, 
and surmounted on one side by an elegant monogram 
of the father's initials. On the inside was the name, 
date and occasion. For the bride was also a lady's 
watch richly chased and ornamented, inlaid with jet, and 
engraved with name and date like the other. This 
was accompanied with a heavy gold chain of fine work- 
manship. Both watches were inclosed in rich and 
highly ornamented cases, and were as perfect of their 
kind as could be found. There was also a golden cane- 
head for the father, beautifully finished and lettered with 
his initials. Another valuable gift was a pair of portraits 
of Mr. and Mrs. Alexander, life size, excellent likenesses- 
They were painted at Wailuku by Mrs. Gillan, an accom- 
plished artist from California. On account of the diffi- 
culty of transportation the portraits were not brought. 

" The present from the grandchildren consisted of a 
large photograph album in velvet and gold, very beauti- 
ful, to be filled with their pictures. An engrossed copy 
of the addresses and poems read on the occasion, in an 
ornamented cover, with the proper names and dates, was 
also presented to the honored pair at the close of the 
exercises. 

" It was not expected that presents would be given 
outside of the family; but the table contained a consid- 
erable number of articles, useful, ornamental and elegant, 
mostly gold, with some coins and pictures, the gifts of 
loving friends, present and absent. . . . 
9 



130 MEMOIR OF 

" As evening drew on the guests reluctantly departed, 
and thus closed this beautiful anniversary, the like of 
which had not occurred in these islands, or among any 
other of the mission families, though a few days only 
were wanting to complete the fiftieth anniversary of the 
marriage of Rev. D. B. Lyman, of Hilo, another of the 
missionary Fathers. 

" The children, children-in-law and grandchildren of 
Father and Mother Alexander, who are living, number 
forty-four, thirty of whom were present. The only death 
among them in fifty years is that of one grandchild." 

In 1882 the Wailuku churches, native and foreign, were 
blessed with a revival under the labors of Mr. Hallen- 
beck, introduced and assisted by Rev. A. O. Forbes, the 
Secretary of the Hawaiian Board. Mr. Alexander 
greatly rejoiced in this good work, and labored in the 
union meetings, every night, as well as in visitation 
through the community. His influence had extended 
from the native churches throughout the foreign com- 
munity. He was by all revered as a rare friend and 
counselor, and was generally affectionately known as 
" Father Alexander." 

Besides him there now remained only one missionary 
brother (Rev. L. Lyons), and besides his wife only four 
ladies, of the company of the fourth re-inforcement, 
that came to the islands on the A ven'c^ in 1832. His 
own health was becoming precarious. In 1880 he had 
once been suddenly taken dangerously ill; his chil- 
dren had only saved his life by chartering a steamer 
and sending him for the best medical help to Honolulu. 
He sometimes spoke of death as near, and expressed 
rare delight at the prospect of soon being in the actual 
presence of his Lord. " Now," he would sometimes 



REV. WM, P. ALEXANDER. 131 

remark, " is our salvation nearer than when we be- 
Heved. I shall soon see the Lord." Nearly all the 
missionary F'athers in the islands were now gone 
Their departure, one by one, had been like the passing 
away of an order different from the common mould of 
mankind. The words with which the a ^.cient psalmist 
sang of his delight in the "saints," as "the excellent of 
the earth," as though they were the nobility of the earth 
were true of them, as they lingered among the increas- 
ing foreign population of the islands, conspicuous by 
their white beards and gray heads, delightful with the 
ripened sweetness and beauty of life-long consecration 
to Christ, and elevated above the grasping greed of the 
multitude by self-sacrificing benevolence. The following 
lines, written at this time for the jubilee of the pastorate 
of Rev. L. Lyons, are quoted as appropriate to the 
subject of this sketch, and as expressing the feelings 
with which he and the other missionary Fathers were 
regarded: — 

"Linger evening, with your glories, 
On Hawaii's mountains grand. 
While the deepening shadows darken 
All the fading lower land. 

"On those mighty domes, that firmly 

Stand through storms and earthquake throes, 
Brightly pour your purpling twilight. 
Gild their dazzling crowns of snows. 

" Heaven prolong the brighter evening 
Of the self-forgetting love, 
That o'er selfish labor towers, 
As the mountains tower above; 

"That as steadfastly endureth, 

By the help of God's right hand, 
Through the storms of sin and evil, 
As the rock-ribbed mountains stand; 

" That through fifty years of toiling, 
'Neath the shifting clouds and light, 
Ever made sweet songs of gladness. 
Like the mountain streamlets bright. 



132 MEMOIR OF 

** Through whose shepherd care the erring 
Oft came to the Saviour's rest, 
As the roaming flocks find shelter 
On the lofty mountain's breast. 

"May the evening light long brighten 
Such rare lingering lives of love, 
Stars gleam forth as darkness gathers, 
Till the davi^n shines from above; 

"Till before the Love far higher, 
Shining from the dome above, 
Sweeter songs of praise are warbled, 
And bright crowns are cast in love. 



■J. M. A. 



CHAPTER XIII 

SICKNESS AND DEATH. 

"Made perfect through suffering." 

ALONG clierished plan of visiting his son Samuel, in 
California, led Mr. Alexander and his wife to leave 
Wailuku on the 26th of April, 1 884. A large company of 
friends and relatives gathered at Kahului to bid them 
farewell, almost fearing that one or both of them would 
never return. The voyage from Honolulu to San Fran- 
cisco was comfortably made. Three months were then 
delightfully spent at their son's home in the invigorating 
climate of Oakland. Mr. Alexander took walks every 
day, sometimes going a distance of two miles, and was 
in better health and spirits than for several years pre- 
vious, until his last sickness suddenly occurred. The 
history of this sickness is here given by extracts from 
letters: — 

'' July ji, iSS-j.. — I have only time to write a line to 
say that {[x\.\\qv'\s pilikia-loa (in a very critical condition). 
. . . . He suffered t:rribly in surgical treatment by 
a doctor from San Francisco (which treatment was a 
blunder, and occasioned internal inflammation.) 

''August 10, Sabbath. — We are waiting for the doctor 
this morning to hear what he will say about father. He 
is sleeping quietly now, but I think it may be the effect 
of opiates. Last evening was an awful time of suffering. 
He only writhed an J groaned in agony, and besought 
the Lord to deliver him. He felt that there was no hope 

(133) 



134 MEMOIR OF 

of his recovery, and said, * My life is strong within me; 
what an awful time of suffering is before me. Pray the 
Lord to deliver me.' . . . The doctor gave medi- 
cine to relieve the pain, which put him to sleep; and he 
slept nearly all night. This morning he woke up, 
changed all his clothes, kissed us all, and is now asleep 
again. . . . We have several times gone down to 
the borders of the grave with him, and given up all hope; 
and then he has revived so surprisingly, and enjoyed his 
food, and planned for his journey home, that we have 
confidently expected his recovery. For three weeks now 
Sam has slept on a cot beside him, and waited on him 
nights, and mother has sat beside him days." (Convers- 
ing with his wife about the probability of his not re- 
covering, he said, '* I can truly say to God, Thy will be 
done.") 

". . . P. M. — We have all been to see father, who 
is easier, and Sam had us sing a few hymns. I asked 
him how he felt; *Oh, he said, 'comfortable. I love the 
Lord, because he has heard my supplication. Those 
beautiful psalms of David seem to have been written for 
me and for ten thousand others.' 

" . . . . Father's pain came on again very severely 
at eleven and twelve Sabbath night. Sam coaxed him 
to take another opiate, which made him quite comforta- 
ble. The doctor says no man could suffer more than he 
has already. The day his sickness commenced he said, 
'The horizon is closing around me.' He has perfect 
faith in answers to prayer. During last week he was 
constantly praying to God in his paroxysms of pain to 
deliver him from his anguish, and when he was free from 
pain a little while he would say, * This poor man cried 
and the Lord heard him.' During all his sufferings he 



REV. IV J/. P. ALEXANDER. 135 

has been so patient. Once when I was in the room I 
said, ' We feel so sorry for you, father; I wish we could 
bear some of the pain for you.' He answered with a 
smile, ' It has been sent where it is most needed I 
think.' Once he said, ' Sometimes I am on the hill-tops, 
then again down in the deep valley of humiliation.' 
Sometimes when we expressed our deep sorrow for the 
terrible agony he was experiencing, he would answer 
that it was nothing in comparison with the glory which 
should be revealed hereafter, and that these light 
afflictions were but for a moment. M. J. A." 

''August II, Monday. — The doctor told Sam yesterday 
morning that he would probably last several days longer; 
but last night he had a severe chill and most agonizing 
pain at the same time. . . . The doctor found him 
so much weaker to-day that he says he cannot 
possibly live many hours longer. Oh, it will be a blessed 
relief for the dear man, when his spirit passes from this 
life into the blessed life beyond ! . . . Monday afternoon 
when Sam was expressing great sympathy for him, he 
replied, ' Sam, it is harder to witness suffering than it is 
to bear it.' He talked a great deal about the love of 
Christ. ' Oh,' he said, ' it is wonderful ! ' I think 
he understood that element in God's character better 
than others, because his own heart was so full of love 
for those around him. His wife, his children and his 
grandchildren, he loved with every fiber of his being, 
and he still had room in his heart for many others. He 
was overheard in conversation with one of his grand- 
children telling how once when riding to preach at 
Waihee, thinking of his sermon, he had such an over- 
powering sense of the love of Christ that he was obliged 
to dismount from his horse and lie upon the ground to 
recover himself M. A." 



136 MEMOIR OF 

" . . . . Tuesday morning. — Father sent his love 
to all his children at the islands, but he seldom talks. 
He hears everything. Sam said to him, ' Dear father, 
to see if he was insensible, and he heard him instantly 
and put up his arms and clasped them around his neck 
and said, * My dear son.' Then he called all the rest 
that v^^ere in the room at the same time and embraced 
and kissed them. It does seem to me there never was 
so lovely a man. His grandchildren F. and L. came 
and he kissed and blessed them, saying, ' The blessing of 
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob be with you; 
but he was too feeble to talk more. 

". . . . I have come from the gates of the holy 
city. All day it has been my privilege to linger near 
your blessed father's dying bed. When I first entered 
the room and stood as it were upon holy ground, your 
brother said, * Father, E. W. is here;' he turned his eyes 
already dim to earthly things, and put up his arms and 
kissed me twice so sweetly and tenderly. I said, ' My 
own dear father (Rev. R. Armstrong) waits to welcome 
you,' and in a sweet, faint voice came these words, * Yes, 
his God and our God will be waiting for me.' Words 
were very few after that, for the life- tide seemed ebb- 
ing fast. ... It was one of the most impressive 
sights I ever witnessed, this wonderful triumph of faith, 
the soul glowing with love to God and man, when the 
veil of flesh was rent. Never once did he doubt the 
tender Shepherd's hand in leading him through the 
dark valley. I felt God's holy presence in that room, 
and in all my life I shall know the power of a living 
faith. Mrs. E. Weaver." 

". . , . Tuesday. — The doctor has just been here, 
and says he will not probably live through the day. He 



REV. JVM. P. ALEXANDER. 137 

lies, back breathing hard. He is so weak that the least 
thing exhausts him. Yet his mind is perfectly clear, 
and he hears everything that is said to him. . 
His pains have all left him, and he is peaceful and 
happy, looking forward with Christian hope and joy to 
the home which Jesus has prepared for all who love 
him. . . . 

" While I write in this my room, our dear old father is 
breathing his last. That blessed old man is even now in 
the * dark valley of the shadow of death,' and a long, 
da.k, dreary valley he has found it. After an infinite 
amount of suffering his dear face looks calm and quiet, 
and as I turn to look, it seems almost to shine like 
an angel's. . . . What a joy it has been to minister 
to his every want, and do what I could to help him; and 
then the blessed words of love and hope that I have 
heard him utter in;night-watches! I never knew before 
the depths of love there were in his nature ; he has been 
the sunshine and joy of our house. . . . The poor 
old man was so happy and well before his accident. He 
said that he had not felt so well for many years previous. 
Only about five weeks ago he officiated at the grave of 
our dear little Clarence. We little thought then how 
soon he too would be placed side by side with the little 
boy. S. T. A." 

"■ Wednesday, August ij. — The long conflict is over. 
Father lies by me at rest, not father though, he is above 
with a crown of victory. Oh, what a terrible long valley 
of the shadow of death he had to pass through to 
victory ! . . . He kept his consciousness to the last, 
but his power of speech failed. . . , Mother repeated 
the words, ' In my Father's house are many mansions.' 
* Come. Lord Jesus, come quickly,' . . . He lingered 



138 MEMOIR OF 

on until twenty minutes past eleven this morning. Once 
this morning he seemed to recognize mother; but he did 
not speak to her. He breathed very peacefully at the 
last, the breath growing fainter and fainter, until we 
hardly knew when he ceased to breathe. 

". . . . Seventy-nine years of labor are over; 
the bitter anguish of his sickness is over; and now he is 
glorified. He is meeting with his brothers and sister 
Ann, with his old missionary brothers, and with our dear 
little Clarence, and, better than all, with his blessed 
Saviour, whom he loved so well. ... A man of 
God has gone to glory. . . . Oh, that we could have 
one glimpse beyond the dark shadow ! S. T. A." 

'' August I ^y Thursday. — The funeral was to-day at 
two P. M. Father looked so natural and peaceful. The 
sunshine that always shone in his face had not departed 
when he lay in his coffin. . . . The services com- 
menced by the choir sweetly and softly singing, ' We 
Shall Meet in the Sweet By and By.' Dr. McLean 
then read Matt. 25 : 31-41, also Rev. 7:13 to the end, 
and another passage about the marriage supper. The 
choir sang ' Rock of Ages.' Drs. Beckwith, Frear, and 
McLean then made very touching addresses, and Dr. 
McLean offered prayer. The choir then sang the words, 
'Asleep in Jesus.' . . . ' He being dead yet speak- 
eth.' What an inspiration such a life and death, to live 
as he did, and to die the death of the righteous ! 

" Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from 
henceforth; yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest 
from their labors; and their works do follow them.' 
Rev. 14 : 13. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

MEMORIAL DISCOURSES AND TESTIMO- 
NIALS. 

REMARKS AT THE FUNERAL, BY REV. WALTER FREAR. 

I AM very glad to add my brief word of testimony 
to the exalted character and memorable services of 
our beloved Father Alexander. 

During the past fourteen years I have known him 
well; and the more I have come to know him the more 
I have learned to love and honor him. I have known of 
his work and of his influence and of the esteem in which 
he has been held among the Hawaiian people, to whose 
salvation he devoted himself in his young manhood, and 
for whose spiritual and temporal welfare he has given 
the energies of his life. 

For fifty- two years he has not ceased to labor for the 
good of that people, whom he loved with all the large- 
ness of his nature, and with a rare and cordial fidelity. 
He identified himself fully with their interests, took them 
up into his affection, was sympathetic and without con- 
straint in his relations to them ; and they in turn had for 
him a warm and unreserved aloJia. They loved him as 
a father and friend. They felt as they would not always 
feel toward those who labored for them, that he under- 
stood them. They sought his counsel freely and looked 
to him trustingly for guidance. By his open-heartedness 
and genial manner he was specially fitted by nature, as 

(139) 



I40 MEMOIR OF 

well as by grace, to win the confidence of Hawaiians. 
He held that confidence to the end, even against the 
distrust of superior races, that has been growing in the 
native mind. He continued his labors for them and 
retained his nearness to them to the last. 

Father Alexander has been, indeed, one of the fathers 
in the Hawaiian Israel ; one of that goodly company 
who went to dark Hawaii, and have left an enduring name, 
a name written as it were in letters of gold, on those 
beautiful isles, and known and read of all men. Those 
were noble men and women, who took their lives in their 
hand, left kindred and friends far behind, and went forth 
into that isolated and benighted part of the earth. Tliey 
were earnest. They were consecrated to Christ and his 
cause. They were, in the highest sense of the word, 
grand characters. I have known them but to venerate 
them. They had their individualities and idiosyncrasies; 
but they laid at the Master's feet a noble service. By 
faith they removed mountains of difficulty, and wrought 
wonderful works of righteousness among an amazingly 
degraded and polluted people. Through their toils and 
tears and prayers a nation was born as it were in a day. 
Out of my professional acquaintance with them has 
grown the feeling, that they would be a specially 
crowned and shining company in Heaven. They take 
rank among those of whom the world is not worthy. 

With our modern facilities of travel there are no 
mission fields so remote and isolated as were the 
Hawaiian Islands in those early days, and no mission- 
aries to-day experience quite the discomforts that those 
fathers and mothers of this mission cheerfully endured. 
Among those discomforts were such things as using a 
hatchet to chop the caked flour that reached them from 
around the Horn. 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 141 

It has fallen to my lot, I may say it has been my 
privilege, to attend the last sickness and obsequies of 
many of those heroes and heroines of faith. I proba- 
bly have been the pastor of more of them than any 
other one. The first of them to go to his rest under my 
ministry was that most excellent, spiritually-minded 
man, good Deacon Amos Cooke, the father of the lady 
of this beautiful home. Then there were Dr. and Mrs. 
Judd, Father Parker, Mother Thurston, Mrs. Judge 
Andrews, Mrs. Hall, Mrs. Johnstone, Mrs. Chamberlain, 
Miss Ogden, and others, with perhaps twenty or more of 
their descendants. I cherish their memory as among 
the choicest treasures of my life. 

Our beloved Father Alexander went to the islands in 
what is called the fourth re-inforcement of the mission sent 
out by the A. B. C. F. M. This was in 1832. In the 
company which sailed with him on the long voyage 
around Cape Horn were Richard Armstrong, whose 
widow and daughter are here with us to-day, and who 
for years was at the head of the Department of 
Public Instruction in the Hawaiian Government, and 
Lorenzo Lyons, the poet of Hawaii, who has written 
most of the hymns sung in the churches, and Cochran 
Forbes, father of the present Secretary of the Hawaiian 
Board of Missions, and David B. Lyman, so long at the 
head of the Hilo Boarding-school for Boys, and J. S. 
Emerson, H. R. Hitchcock, with their wives and 
others. At least seven or eight of this re-inforcement 
are still living. 

They reached the islands a few years before that wide- 
sweeping and wonderful revival, in which the whole 
nation turned to God, and when in six years not less 
than twenty-seven thousand persons were added to the 



142 MEMOIR OF 

churches. Into this blessed work, WiUiam P. Alexan- 
der, then less than thirty years of age, entered with all 
the ardor of his soul, and God gave him many souls as the 
seals of his ministry. As missionary at Waioli, Kauai, 
1 834-1 843, as Principal of the Lahainaluna Seminary, 
Maui, 1 843-1 856, as pastor and preacher at Wailuku, 
1 856-1 884, and instructor there of native ministers, until 
the Theological Seminary was established in Honolulu, 
he labored incessantly and with cheerful faithfulness. 

He took a deep interest in the education of Hawaiians. 
Many of them have looked up to him as their beloved 
instructor. Many of the Hawaiian pastors and mission- 
aries to Micronesia received their training at his hand, 
and think of him with loving regard. He was a trustee 
of Oahu College from its beginning until 1876, when he 
resigned and his son, Prof. W. D. Alexander, was elected 
to fill his place. He was a member of the Hawaiian 
Board of Missions until his death, and was ever ready 
for every good work. 

In all his interests he was thoroughly identified with 
the islands, and his large family of children have been 
wedded into and have grown up into the island life, and 
are a part of the best strength of the kingdom. His 
island-born grandchildren number over thirty, and he 
was happy in them all. 

His many excellent traits of character have been 
already dwelt upon. He always had a smile of greeting. 
His hand-shake was cordial. It was ever a sunny pleas- 
ure to meet him ; fair-minded, equable in temperament, 
with a kindly twinkle of good humor in his eye, he was 
one who always accepted the situation pleasantly, what- 
ever might be the portent of discouragement or trial. 
He understood the Hawaiians. He knew their weak- 



REV IVM. P. ALEXANDER. 143 

nesscs, their foibles and their needs. He also appreciated 
their good traits, their genial nature, their hospitality 
and generosity, and their susceptibility to good influ- 
ences. 

He rests from his labors and his works do follow 
him. He has fought a good fight. He has finished 
his course; henceforth there is laid up for him a crown 
of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, 
shall give him at that day. 

OBITUARY. 

BY REV. S. E. BISHOP. 

Departed this life, August 12, 1884, at the residence of his 
son, S. T. Alexander, Esq , in Oakland, California, the Rev. 
William Patterson Alexander, aged seventy-nine years. 

We have thus to record the decease of one among us whose 
" good gray head all men knew," and many greatly loved; one 
whose name stands with Bingham, Armstrong and Coan, as 
the most eminent and influential among the missionaries of the 
A. B. C. F. M. in the Hawaiian Islands. 

Father Alexander was of the strong Scotch-Irish stock, born 
in Paris, Kentucky, July 25, 1805. His father, a wise and 
godly Presbyterian elder, he grew into that genial, honorable, 
conscientious, manly, and consecrated character which we so 
well knew. 

In 1828 he resolved to go on a mission to the heathen. 
Planning to go to Palestine, he began the study of Syriac, but 
in 1 83 1 accepted an appointment to the Sandwich Islands, to 
which the American Board were then sending the strongest 
available men. . . . October 25, at Harrisburg, he was 
married to Miss Mary Ann McKinney, and (in a company of 
nineteen missionary passengers, including himself and his wife) 
sailed from New Bedford, November 26, 1831, on the Averick, 
Captain Swain, and reached Honolulu in May, 1832. The 
writer, then five years old, distinctly remembers this large group 
of missionaries as they assembled in the parlors of Mr. Bing- 
ham's house. Young, vigorous, able, devoted, bringing cheer 
and strength to the veteran pioneers, they have in their turn 
become aged and are passing away. . . . 



144 MEMOIR OF 

In August, 1833, Messrs. Alexander, Armstrong and Parker 
arrived at Nuuhiwa, where they passed eight months among the 
cannibals, and then left the Marquesas work to the London 
Missionary Society, whose missionaries were then on their 
way thither. Mr. Alexander, in 1834, was located at Waioli, 
Kauai, where he spent nine years of successful labor, and in 
the exposures of pioneer work contracted asthma, which con- 
tinued through his life. Thence in 1843 he removed to 
Lahainaluna Seminary, where belabored until 1856, when by 
medical advice he resigned; but in the November following he 
became pastor of the Wailuku church, where he has continued 
to reside twenty-seven years. In addition to pastoral labors, 
in 1863 he commenced a Theological School, in which were in 
all sixty-seven pupils, more than half of whom entered the 
ministry, and did good work in the native churches and in 
Micronesia. In 1874 the school was removed to Honolulu, 
passing in 1877 under the charge of Rev. Dr. Hyde. 

Mr. Alexander resigned the Wailuku pastorate in 1867, but 
continued active in many missionary labors even while the in- 
firmities of age increased upon him. In 1871 and 1872 he 
successively visited the missions at the Marquesas Islands and 
Micronesia in the Morning Star as agent of the Boards. 

Father Alexander's eminence as a missionary was not due to 
gifts of eloquence, although he was an impressive, clear and 
most instructive preacher. He was especially great in counsel 
and executive efficiency. As an instructor he probably had no 
equal among his brethren. To the writer his most remarkable 
combination of qualities seemed to have been the rare and 
difficult union of great positiveness of opinion and purpose 
with such obvious purity, sweetness, and wise discretion, that 
he seldom made an enemy, or failed to command the highest 
regard and confidence of those even who strenuously differed 
from him. He was a very decided man; saw his way clearly 
and acted promptly and vigorously. For knavery and hypoc- 
risy he had a keen discernment and swift rejection, but the 
kindest tolerance and sympatny for those honestly mistaken. 
The secret of the wide personal popularity of so positive a 
nature lay in the strong, tender and generous sympathy of his 
spirit which made h;m indescribably winning. To know and 
confer with such a man was a rich privilege, and his associates 
and pupils looked up to and delighted in him, in a way and 
degree which it is impossible to describe or account for. 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 145 

Father Alexander was above all beloved in his own large 
family, where the rare tenderness and power of his strong and 
sympathetic nature made him a father whose loss is felt as few 
can be. Five sons, four daughters and thirty grandchildren 
mourn the patriarch's departure from them. Until within a 
very few weeks before his death not a break had occurred in 
the whole number. In i88i it was the privilege of Mr. and 
Mrs. Alexander to celebrate their golden wedding at Glenside, 
Haiku, Maui, the home of their son, Rev. James M. 

Mr. and Mrs. Alexander proceeded to Oakland, May i, with 
a reasonable prospect of many years of comfortable life. A 
few weeks since a slight mishap in a surgical operation led to 
fatal results. He lingered for two weeks, attended with intense 
suffering. This he bore with singular courage, replying to the 
sorrow of his friends that "the sufferings here were as nothing 
to the glories to be revealed." He talked a great deal during 
his illness about the wonderful goodness of God. To one say- 
ing she wished she could bear some of the pain for him, he 
replied, '* It has been sent where it was most needed, I think." 
Once he said, " Sometimes I am on the hill-tops, then again 
down in the deep valley of humiliation." His last conscious 
day was one of tolerable relief from bodily pain, and of tran- 
scendent joy of spirit. To those who were near him death and 
Heaven took on new meanings. 

Age had not dulled the faculties of our venerated friend in 
body or mind. It may be some consolation for his hastened 
departure, to reflect that he has been spared the painful weak- 
ness and dependence of extreme old age. He has left his 
large family of sons and daughters in an unusual degree of 
honor and prosperity. His venerated widow still remains to 
comfort her mourning family. A large number of Hawaiians 
in honorable positions in the church and the State, look up to 
him as their Makua (father), and will hold his memory sacred. 
A greater number who counted him their spiritual father have 
doubtless welcomed him to the blessed life above. We who 
remain shall miss his benign and enlivening presence and wise 
counsel. " Father Alexander " will be long remembered in 
Hazvaii net. 



\o 



MEMORIAL DISCOURSE, 

PREACHED AT MAKAWAO MAUI, 

BY REV. T. Ho ROUSE. 

" For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." Phil, i : 21. 

IN speaking of the loved one who has gone from us it 
is not so much my purpose to sketch an outline of 
his life, or to dwell on the facts of his history, as it is 
to call attention to some features of his Christian charac- 
ter, which are especially worthy of imitation. 

His achievements as a Christian hero, his grand work, 
his life-long and steady battle with heathenism and the 
powers of darkness in these islands, his pioneer work in 
remote stations^ his labors as a teacher of youth, as a 
preacher and pastor, as a theological instructor, the 
mighty triumphs of the gospel he witnessed and partici- 
pated in, his literary work and publications in Hawaiian, 
his labors to establish Punahou College, his efforts for 
the founding and prosperity of our Makawao Seminary, 
— all these and other labors, which we cannot now men- 
tion, may be far better portrayed by others, h's surviv- 
ing companions, or those who have made a study of 
Hawaiian history, than by a transient resident, knowing 
only by hearsay, or brief observation, of the great work 
of God in these islands, by the hands of these mission- 
ary Fathers, now passing away. 

" For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain," says the 
apostle. The first clause of this text gives us, I think, 
the main, the great characteristic of his life, which wc 
(146) 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER 147 

may well seek to imitate. The second clause gives the 
ssue of his life, which is for our consolation and joy, 
under these trials. I call your attention, then, first, to 
that consecrated life to Christ, which was his as it is our 
highest honor and praise. 

To give one's self to the foreign missionary work in 
those times, when the heathen world was so little known, 
the influences of civilization so feeble and limited, the 
means of transport and communication so few, and the 
perils and privations in consequence so great, required, 
methinks, a more absolute consecration, a more utter sur- 
render into the hands of God, of life and all its interests, 
than in these later times, when the ends of the earth are 
brought into such close proximity, and its nations are 
neighbors. There were giants in those days, men great in 
consecration and trust. Such examples as that of Titus 
Coan going to Pategonia, or of Father and Mother Alex- 
ander going to the Marquesas, confronting its lawless can- 
nibalism, must ever shine conspicuous in its likeness to 
that apostolic heroism, which said, "Neither count I my 
life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with 
joy and the m»inistry which I have received." ... A 
life so consecrated to God will have these three features: 
great delight in prayer, great love for the divine word, 
and great longing for the coming of Christ in his king- 
dom. Now these things very much characterized the 
life of that beloved Father, whose example is before you. 
How much was prayer his delight! He loved commun- 
ion with God more than his daily food. The simplicity 
of his faith, how child-like ! " I love the Lord because he 
hath heard the voice of my supplication," he often said. 
How sweet it was to bow with him at the family akar. 
How many and fervent have his prayers been for his chil- 



148 MEMOIR OF 

dren and his grandchildren. In the great distress and 
suffering of the last days of his life, how earnestly hesought 
the Lord for help, as to one with whom he had had a 
long acquaintance in prayer! And the Lord gave him 
directly help from his hand. How fervently and beauti- 
fully he acknowledged it ! " This poor man cried," 
said he, " and the Lord heard him, and delivered 
him out of all his troubles." 

As his delight in prayer was great, so was his love 
for the divine word. His knowledge of the Scriptures 
was great. He believed fully in the power of divine 
truth. He faithfully preached it and had great witness 
of its power. That word was also the delight of his 
own heart. The promises cheered and comforted him. 
How often they were quoted with the sweetest assurance! 
How he loved the psalms of David ! How richly they ex- 
pressed his own experience ! " Those beautiful psalms," 
said he, " seem to have been written for me, as for ten 
thousand others." " I shall think of him when I read 
the psalms," said one, " he repeats them so often." 

Conspicuous, too, was his personal love for Christ and 
his coming in his kingdom. Often were these words on 
his lips, " Even so, come, Lord Jesus." He did not dog- 
matize respecting that coming, whether it was personal 
or spiritual, but he longed for the blessed Master, antici- 
pated with great joy the seeing of him, and seemed to live 
more nearly than most in the spirit of "looking for that 
blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the glory of 
our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ." Now his hopes 
have their fruition, and he sees the King in his beauty. 

Again; a life thus consecrated to God and com- 
munion with him must result in great usefulness. 
, , , When we think of the results of his life, what a 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 149 

view opens before us, of native minds awakened and led 
to Christ; of youth instructed, developed and lifted to a 
higher plane of character; of gospel ministers trained to 
teach others and to be missionaries of light into the 
deeper darkness; institutions of learning founded, and 
developed to a strong maturity, in which multitudes 
have been taught and trained to decent and noble lives, 
and in which other multitudes shall yet be instructed — in 
a word, a nation lifted from the blackness of heathenism 
far on towards a Christian civilization. . . . 

Another result of such a consecration is that such a 
life becomes transfigured far into the divine likeness of 
love. Have we any more perfect type of what God is 
as a father, than an earthly father, who, through loving 
consecration to God and long communion with him, 
has become much assimilated to his likeness ? How 
sweet and loving were the characteristics of this precious 
father of yours. You saw and felt them. None could 
be long in his [)resence yet insensible to that ripe and 
mellowed character, that loving spirit, the result of much 
divine communion. . . 

While our father and friend, whom we mourn to-day, 
possessed, in as full proportion as most, those stronger 
qualities of character, such as decision, firmness, and 
executive ability, he also bore in sweet and loving 
prominence those softer and g2ntler traits that win and 
attract everybody, even, most of all, little children, to his 
arms. How often have we seen his loving, patriarchal 
form seated on the sofa in his home, with a little con- 
tented grandchild under each arm and clasped to his 
side. To see the tender look in his eye, and the bene- 
diction of his beaming face bent over them so kindly, I 
could only think of Christ the Saviour with the little 



ISO MEMOIR OF 

children in his arms. Lonof will vou remember his 
affectionate greetings as you visited his home; his loving 
kiss; his fatherly arms thrown around you in warm em- 
brace; his words of affection that great, warm heart of 
love, that held you all, that embraced everybody, that 
went out to every child, every friend, every native, the 
whole village where he lived, and the churches to which 
he ministered, to all the Hawaiian churches and their 
pastors, welcoming all to his generous heart and hospita- 
ble home. Yes, the element of love that pervaded his 
character so strongly, expressed itself everywhere and to 
the last; pain could not quench it, nor anguish abate it. 
It was wonderful, more like the love of Christ than we 
often see, stronger than all things in him, except his love 
to Christ and Christ's love to him, in which it had its 
root. As one said, '' He reminds one of the apostle 
John in the sweetness and tenderness of his spirit." 
" If he had lived on earth in apostolic times I believe he 
would have shared with the beloved disciple the intimate 
friendship of Jesus." 

Let us look now at the issues of such a life. " To die 
is gain," says the apostle. The end of such a life is gain. 
It is gain to him. Is it not possibly gain to you ? It is 
good to have such a life with us I know — oh, how 
good! — to have it in the family, in the home, in the 
quaint old mansion where you so often went, and where 
there was always room for all of you and a trundle-bed 
and crib and high-chair for every grandchild; to see his 
face, to go to his home, to meet his smiling welcome and 
tender embrace, — this was sweet and good and desirable ; 
the atmosphere of Heaven pervaded that home. You 
Avere lifted heavenward by that father's and mother's 
prayers; and as you went to your own homes, your lives 



REV. IVM. P. ALEXANDER. 151 

were lived under more sacred bonds. . . But when 

such a father goes from us, it is then that he is still with 
us. This is no paradox. Then it is that all his life, the 
whole past of it, is gathered up and focaHzed, by affection 
and memory brought into one concentrated whole, and 
shines upon us its holy influences more powerfully than 
before. . . . 

But finally, to him also it was gain to die. You 
cannot doubt this. . . . You see it to be so from 
his worn-out body, its pain, its inevitable liability to 
pain, but now transported beyond the reach of suffer- 
ing forever. He knew by experience more than most 
the ministry, of pain. More than once in his life 
did he pass through the furnace of trial. " He was per- 
fected through suffering." Why, we know not. How 
wonderfully he bore it! If God did not remove the 
*' thorn," he gave grace to bear it. To one who said, 
"Oh, that we could bear the pain for you!" he said, 
"It has been sent, doubtless, where it is most needed." 
" These sufferings here," he said, *" are not worthy to be 
compared with the glory to be revealed." Sweet to him 
after them was the glory to be revealed. Not only was 
it gain to die for the freedom from earthly ills and suf- 
ferings, but for the blessedness in store. 

How did his spirit exult in the love of his coming 
Saviour, and in the glorious meeting wit'i him! "Now 
is our salvation nearer than wh n we believed," he often 
said, as the end was drawing near. The transcendent 
joys of his spirit on his last da)', it was beautiful to 
behold. His last hours were peace, and he gently passed 
into glory. For him to die was surely gain. Not long 
before his dear companion will join him there. Faith- 
fully has she borne the burden and heat of life's day 



152 MEMOIR- OF 

with him. May the loving arms of Jesus be close 
around her, in place of those upon which she has so long 
leaned, and his rod and staff comfort her, till her pilgrim- 
age is ended, and she joins him above. And may you 
all, children and grandchildren, so live as to join him 
there, in God's own time, that he may stand before the 
throne and be able to say, " Here am I, Lord, and all the 
children thou hast given me." 

Funeral discourses containing touching tributes to the 
memory of Mr. Alexander were also preached by Rev. 
A. O. Forbes (Secretary of the Hawaiian Evangelical 
Association, one of his most intimate associates in the 
mission work) in the native church at Wailuku and to 
the foreign residents at Haiku; but these discourses 
were not written out for publication. 

TRIBUTE OF MR. E. BAILEY. 

"Wailuku, April 21, 1888. 
" Mrs. M. a. Alexander — Dear Sister: It gives me 
the greatest pleasure to bear my testimony to the worth 
of our dear, departed friend and brother. Rev. W. P. 
Alexander, with whom we passed so many years of 
pleasant intercourse here in Wailuku. The memory of 
those years is very dear in the retrospect, and they were 
pleasant in the enjoyment. I know of no one with whom 
I have ever been acquainted, who was more unselfish, 
who would do more for one whom it was in his power to 
benefit, or do it with more hearty good-will. We were 
sad when the time came for separation, with a fear that 
we should see his face no more, a fear that was only 
too painfully realized. It hardly seems, even at this late 
day, that we shall see no more that erect form and beam- 
ing countenance, nor hear his words of sympathy and 



RF.V. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 153 

good-will. To a much greater extent than is usual, even 
among Christians, lie seemed to bear ill-will to no one. 
"As a missionary, he was indefatigable, and never 
seemed to know when he had done enough. No call for 
help was unheeded when it was in his power to help. 
In counsel he was efficient, and always bore a large part 
of the burden of planning for more efficient work. But 
those whose relations to him were most intimate, know 
well that, while public interests were not neglected by 
him, his virtues shone most brightly in private life. As 
a friend and i^.eighbor he was all that man could be. 
High and all-pervading Christian principle seemed to 
give color to his whole life; and though always gentle, 
he was not to be turned aside from what he considered 
right. In cheering the afflicted, in bearing with human 
frailty, in smoothing the pathway of those in trouble, he 
was exemplary; and few who knew him will not re- 
member how well he acquitted himself in each position. 
I could add much more, but must close these few notes 
with the declaration that he was the faithful missionary, 
the loving friend, and the whole souled Christian. 

"Most sincerely yours, E. BaiLEV." 

TRIBUTE OF GEN. S. C ARMSTRONG. 

*' ' Father Alexander ' is embalmed in all our memories. 
He was the soul of hospitality and of all kindness. 
How many exhausted, wave-tossed missionary fathers 
and mothers and children have been welcomed by him 
as they landed from the Maria^ or Hoikaika, or Kaine- 
JimneJia, or other lesser coasting craft on the beach at 
Lahaina and ascended to Lahainaluna, and were cheered 
by his unfailing humor and rejuvenated by a bath in the 
delightful mountain waters ! I can almost recall now 



154 MEMOIR OF 

the bliss of it and the glorious view of sea and outly- 
ing islands from those heights; it is a sensation by itself; 
there is nothing like it. Your father was my father's 
friend, one of his closest, dearest friends, and I dcep'.y, 
tenderly revere his memory. I recall his noble form, — 
an ideal Kentuckian, embodying the Christian and the 
heroic type, — I can almost say, 'the noblest Roman of 
them all;' fordid he not tower above all the fathers, with 
his benignant smile and never-failing flow of wit and 
wisdom? He lived with his family for many years in 
the house where I was born, my father's first mission 
station, opposite grand old Haleakela. Like it, he 
was great. He sowed seed, the fruition of which 
spread silently over the islands, the value of which can- 
not be estimated. My memory wanders to the days at 
Ulupalakua, where he was most kind to me. The ranch 
life there was Paradise for boys. My enthusiasm for 
him and gratitude to him will never cease. He gave 
himself and a splendid progeny to Hawaii. The mem- 
ory of your own and of all the fathers and mothers is 
fragrant; it is holy. We are far below them in the 
spirit of sacrifice and of devotion. What a heritage 
they have left us ! " 

From the Missionary Herald: — 

" Secretary Clark recalls an incident showing the 
affectionate interest inspired in his pupils by Father 
Alexander:' At the Jubilee of 1870, in Honolulu, as Mr. 
Alexander came down from the platform where he had 
been sitting during some of the exercises, Kauwealoha, 
one of his former pupils, who had just returned from a 
seventeen years' absence, as a missionary to the Mar- 
quesas Islands, rushed forward and caught him in his 
arms. The hearty, tearful embrace of these two men 
was alike creditable to both." 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 15$ 

HOALOHALOHA A KA AHA LUNAKAHIKO 
I KA MAKUA, 

REV. W. P. ALEXANDER. 

Ue, Ue, Ua make ka Makua IVilliani, 

Ua make he Eiele a !:i:u hoa, 

Kuu hoa i paa ka Pono, 

Kur. hoa i ka Uc:. a ka Makani, 

Kuu hoa i ka wela o ka La, 

Kuu hoa i ka a>i7i o ka MaunOy 

Kuu hoa i mau Kai Etoahi, 

Uc^ Uc^ Ua hala kuu hoa, 

Ka Lani nani o Kristo, 

Aole hoi hou mai. 

Mrs. Mary Ann McK. Alexander: Makuahine aloha, 
i Jioo7taluea ia e ka luulutt pilihiic, no ka hala ana o kau 
Kane Aloha, kou hoapili no na makehiki he 53, a of, 
O makou na kamaiki ma ka Uhane o ka Pono, na Kahu 
Ekalesia. me na Lunakahiko, i akoakoa mai iloko o ka 
Aha Lunakahiko (ma Kaahumanu) na hoa Lawchana o 
kau Kane, ko makou Makua i aloha nui ia, me ka paulclc 
mau aku, O kc Komite a ka Aha, ma ke ano o kc 
Kanaka, ke hoikc nei imua ou i ke aloha ka walania^ ka 
haehae, ke kimakena ka uluku, ka Ha ana, Ua hole 
ahanane loko iwi-Jiaihaiy wehe i ka pe-a kua o kc 
Kanaka, ka ua mea o ke kukia mau i ka hole ana o ka 
Makua leo ole, ka hoa kuka a ohumuhumu no na hana 
a ka Haku, ka mea nana e hoomalamalama i na mea 
pohihihi o ka Euanalio a Kristo, a pau ae ka pohihihi, c 
hiki pono ai ke alakai i na hana no ke Aupuni Lanakila 
o ke Keikihipa. E ka Makuahine, O ka ka Haku hana 
ike ole ia keia o ka lavve ana i ke oJio-hina o kana kauwa 
i ka lua me ka minamina, me ka pau ole o kana hana i 
kc ao nci no ka ulia o k.i manavva. 



156 MEMOIR OF 

E ko makou luaiii-wahine o ka Pono, he mea 
piiamianu nui keia o kou makou mau puuvvai o ka hele 
ana o kou hoapili i kiiilima pu ia' i e olua na Moana 
nui; ka Atelanika Hikina, ka Pacifika Komohana, na 
ale apiipii o na Kai-Ewalu; na avvawa anoano o 
Nutuhiway Pac aina o Maquisa, ka ua nui lokuloku o 
Waioli, ka la kochana o Lahainaluna, kahi a olua i 
hoiloli ai, e hoa i ka Ipukukui o ka noeau no ka Pomaikai 
o keia Lahui. — Ka mahiehie o ka Pono i ahai mua ia e 
Rev. J. Kekela laua o Rev. S. Kauwealoha i Fatuhiwa, 
a i hookahua ia c RcVc D. Kapali, G. Leleo, N. Lono i 
ka Paeaina o ka Pacifika Hema. Me keia mau hoalo- 
haloha ana nou, kc hai haahaa aku nei makou na hoa a 
pau o ka Aha ma o kc Koinite la, e lawe aku i ko makou 
aloha ana no Rev. W. P. Alexander^ ka oluolu, ka loko- 
maikai. E ae haahaa aka kakou i ka ke Akua ka Makiia, 
ka Haku lesu Kristo, me ka Uhane Hemolele haawina 
kaumaha i kau mai maluna o kakou a pau, O kona Inoa 
ke hoomaikai ia; Nana noi olelo mai, *' Pomaikai ka poe 
make, ke make iloko o ka Haku; E hahai ana ka lakou 
hana mahope o lakou." Eia ko kakou manaolana: ''O 
ka mea hoohuli i ka lehulehu e alohilohi lakou ia ao aku 
ia ao aku." Daniela 12:3. O ka makou pule ia i ke 
Akua, E hooloihi maii na la o kou ol i ana, a e ike i ka 
maha me ka Pomaikai, ma ka maka o ka olua ohana, 
mai kou puhaka mai. 

f W. P. Kahale, 
I O. Nawahine, 
Komiti^ Z. S. K. Paaluhi, 
I A. Pali, 
LJ. Haoie. 



REV. WAT. P. ALEXANDER. 157 

Translation of the foregoing: — 

LETTER OF CONDOLENCE. 

FROM THE PRESBYTERY OF MAUI. 

Alas, alas, Father Wifliam is dead! 
Dead is the missionary and friend ; 
Our friend who stood fast for the right, 
Our friend in the rain and wintl, 
Our friend in the heat of the sun. 
Our friend in the cold of the mountains, 
Our friend on the Eight Seas; 
Alas, alas, our friend has departed ! 
Gone to the glorious Heaven of Christ, 
He will return no more= 

To Mrs. ^Lary A. Alexander, our beloved mother, who 
art overwhehned with a crushing weight of sorrow by the 
death of your beloved husband, your most intimate 
friend of over fifty-three years, we children begotten by 
the spirit of truth; pastors and elders of the churches, 
co-workers with your husband, assembled as a Pres- 
bytery (at Kaahumanu church) by our committee, 
declare to you our intense sympathy y^ith you, our over- 
whelming sorrow, our heart-heaving and tremor of spirit, 
because there has been the departure in utter dissolution 
of body and sundering of the silver cords of life, of our 
father to be henceforth voiceless to us, of him who was 
our friend in all our consultation and planning for the 
work of the Lord, who was accustomed to shed light on 
the m}'steries of the gospel of Christ, and to guide in 
the work of the triumphant kingdom of the Lamb. 

O mother, we see the Lord's hand in this removal, 
most sorrowfully regretted by us, of the gray-headed 
veteran, his servant, to the grave before the completion 
of his work ! 



158 MEMOIR OF 

And, O our mother in the cause of righteousness, 
it profoundly stirs cur hearts that this is the removal 
of your most intimate friend, who, hand in hand with 
you, traversed the great oceans of the Atlantic on 
the east, and the Pacific on the west, and our tumultuous 
Eight Seas, who with you labored hard in the far isolated 
valleys of Nuuhiva, of the Marquesas Islands, in the 
rainy district of Waioli, and in the oppressive heat of 
Lahainaluna, to light the lamp of wisdom for the bless- 
ing of this nation, from whose labors there have been 
especially conspicuous results in the missionary lives of 
Rev. J. Kekela and Rev. S. Kauwealoha, in Fatuhiva, 
and of Revs. D. Kapali, G. Leleo, and N. Lono, in 
Micronesia. 

With these expressions of sympathy, we, the Pres- 
bytery, humbly express to you our love for Rev. W. P. 
Alexander for his goodness and tender kindness. Let 
us bow in humble submission to God the Father, our 
Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit in this heavy 
affliction that hath come alike on us all. Praised be his 
name, who hath said, " Blessed are the dead who die in 
the Lord, their works do follow them." This is our 
hope, " They that turn many to righteousness shall shine 
as the stars forever and ever." It is our prayer to God 
that he will lengthen out t!ie days of your life, and that 
you may see rest and blessing in the presence of the 
families of your children. 

"W. P. Kahale, 
O. Nawahine, 
Committee^ Z. S. K. Paaluhi 
I A. Pali, 
l^J, Haole, 



REV. IVM. P. ALEXANDER. 159 

TRANSLATION OF LETTER OF CONDO- 
LENCE. 

FROM THE EVANGELICAL ASSOCL\TION OF OAHU. 

To Mrs. Alexander, true mother in the Lord Jesiis 
Christ: — 

Great Aloha: We, a committee of the Evangelical 
Association of Oahu, express the overvvhelminfTj sorrow 
every member of this Association feels, together with a 
feeling of submission to God in joyous hope, because the 
Almighty has taken away the soul of your greatly bc- 
lov^ed husband, that he should enter the mansions of 
Heaven for blessing and for rest from his earthly labors. 
You, with all the members of your family, arc indeed in 
deep distress; on you there is a heavy burden of sorrow, 
and you are in the very depths of affliction, because he 
has gone on a path in which there is no returning; but 
rejofce, for "blessed are the dead that die in the Lord." 
" Death is swallowed up in victory. Therefore comfort 
ye one another with these words." i Thess. 4: 17, 18. 
Tenderly regarded in the sight of the Lord is the death 
of his saints. 

While you are weeping and mourning for }'our 
beloved departed from you, we, your friends of this 
Association, weep with you and all your family. It is 
well that God the Almighty should take away his serv- 
ant to dwell with him in the kingdom of Heaven, though 
he leaves you with tears for him on this side of the River 
of Jordan, and us of this Association uniting with you 
in mourning. We have no certain dwelling-place here- 
We seek a place beyond, the everlasting home prepared 
for believers. We, the members of this Association, 



i6o MEMOIR OF 

humbly pray the triune God, that he will take away your 
weight of sorrow and ov rwhelming distress. 

[Signed by the Committee] J. W. Kaapu, 

J. N. Paikuli, 
S. Paaluhi. 
Waialua, October 8, 1884.. 



TRANSLATION OF LETTER OF CONDOLENCE. 

FROM THE ASSOCIATION OF KAUAI, ASSEMBLED AT KOLOA, 
OCTOBER 15-18, 1884. 

To Mrs. IV. p. Alexander, aloha {love): — 

On the 1 2th of August, 1884, it pleased our heavenly 
Father to take away your beloved husband, a spiritual 
father of this nation. He was a father greatly beloved 
by our people, from whose sowing amongst us, many 
rich fruits of Christian blessing have resulted, that will 
ever redound to his memory. His work on earth is 
done; and he has gone, we believe, to his heavenly home 
above, with the angels to ever behold the face of his 
heavenly Father. Therefore, all the members of this 
association tender their fervent sympathy to you, your 
children and grandchildren, and unite with you in your 
mourning. "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord." 

Rev. J. H. Mahoe, Moderator. 

Rev. S. U. Kapahi, Scribe. 

By order of the Association. 



TRANSLATION OF LETTER OF CONDOLENCE. 

FROM THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CONVENTION, OF MAUI AND 
MOLOKAI, REPRESENTING THE GREATLY BE- 
LOVED FATHER ALEXANDER. 

To Mrs. Mary A. Alexander, greatly loved: — 
Wc, the spiritual children of you both, teachers of 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. i6i 

Sabbath-schools, delegates of the Sabbath-scnools, of 
the three districts (na bono Ekolu a Piilani) assembled 
in the Kaahumanu church, at Wailuku (declare) — that 
it is the Lord's doing, as the Bible teaches, that he should 
take to the grave his gray-headed servant, greatly- 
mourned, without the completion of his work on earth, 
suddenly and unexpectedly. Therefore we, your chil- 
dren, enter with you into weeping with distressed hearts 
and with flowing tears for our loved father, who, with 
you, through our ocean reefs, amongst our mountains 
and over our blue seas, has been bringing the light, the 
iamp of wisdom, for the glorious progress of our nation 
in material and spiritual prosperity. With these words 
of condolence, all the children of this Sabbath-school 
Convention weep with you. Be pleased to accept the 
assurance of our love for Father Alexander, the courteous, 
the delightful, the benevolent. Let us humbly submit 
with love to the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, in the 
removal of Father Alexander to dwell in his glorious and 
holy bosom, in joys prepared for his own people, chosen 
out of the world. Blessed be his name forever and ever. 
The Bible tells us, " Blessed are the dead who die in the 
Lord," and " their works do follow them." This is our 
expression of profound sympathy for you. 

Kalua, President. 

J. Haole, Secretary. 

Wailuku, Maui, December 6, i88^. 



TRANSLATION OF LETTER OF CONDOLENCE. 

FROM THE ELDERS OF THE CHURCH OF WAILUKU. 

To our Christian mother, Mrs. W. P. Alexander, greatly 

beloved, tender greeting: — 

Since we are informed that Father Alexander has 
II 



1 62 MEMOIR OF 

been taken from you and from us, the children of his 
spiritual care, therefore we express our most tender 
sympathy for you in this very heavy affliction that has 
come on you and on us, the children of you both. We 
tender to you our loving condolence that you are deprived, 
by the hand of the Almighty, of your helpmate, and we 
unite with you and your children in weeping and mourn- 
ing; and we have the hope that he is at the right hand 
of God in blessing, where we most earnestly hope to 
ourselves arrive. With flowing tears we sorrow with 
you and your children in this affliction, in which we all 
suffer. J. B. Keanu, 

J. Haole, 
Kahopii, 
The Elders of the Wailuku Church. 



TRANSLATION OF LETTER OF CONDOLENCE. 

THE CHURCH OF WAILUKU TO THE CHILDREN OF FATHER 

ALEXANDER. 

Great AlohA: We, the elders of the church of 
Wailuku, tender our great sympathy to you, the chil- 
dren who are bereaved and overwhelmed with heavy 
affliction, by the death of your father. We unite with 
you in grief and mourning; and we indulge the hope 
that he has gone to dwell at the right hand of the Al- 
mighty. We express our sympathy to you with sorely 
distressed and broken hearts, since we too are deprived 
of a father; and we. the elders of the church, unite with 
you, his own greatly beloved children, in love for him. 
With this affection and with suffering hearts, we bow in 
reverent submission before him who dctermincth all 



REV. JVM. P. ALEXANDER, 163 

events, since we cannot murmur at the dispensation of 
God. W. B. Keanu, 

[Signed by the elders] J. HaoLE, 

Kahopii. 



A SERMON PREACHED BY REV. W. P. ALEX- 
ANDER, IN THE UNITED STATES, 
IN THE YEAR 1859. 

*' And when they were rome and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all 
that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the 
Gentiles,' Acts 4 : 27. 

The apostles were the first missionaries. Until their 
mission commenced, the true religion had been confined 
to God's chosen people, the Jews; but they were sent to 
every creature. Their commission was very broad; it 
required them to go into all the world and teach all 
nations. Accordingly we arc told in the last verse of 
the gospel by Mark, that the apostles went forth and 
preached everywhere, the Lord working with them. 
Before the last o{ the twelve had been called home from 
his labors, they had proclaimed a free salvation through 
a crucified and risen Redeemer, far and wide, among the 
nations then known, perhaps as far as it was practicable 
for them to do at that time. The apostle Paul was 
particularl)^ distinguished for his labors among the 
heathen or idolatrous nations. To this arduous service 
he was especially called of God. and both by gifts and 
graces, was admirably fitted; hence he is called the 
apostle to the Gentiles, or, as it might be expressed, 
missionary to the heathen. After preaching in various 
parts in company with Barnabas, he seems to have found 
it good and important to revisit the place of their 
former labors at Antioch, where they had been recom- 



1 64 MEMOIR OF 

inencled to the grace of God for the work of evangeliz- 
ing the surrounding nations. Here, as was natural, they 
called together the church, and gave them an account of 
their mission. They rehearsed all that God had done 
with them, and how he had opened a door of faith unto 
the Gentiles; how they had preached Christ Jesus in 
every place, in Seleucia and Cyprus, Salamis, Paphos, 
and Perga; how the Holy Spirit had been poured 
out, and many had embraced a risen Saviour, while 
others had rejected their message, raised a persecution 
against them, and expelled them from their coasts. 

Such a narrative could not fail to be interesting and 
profitable to the brethren at Antioch, who needed to 
have their hearts encouraged and their faith strengthened 
during those trying times. What Paul and Barnabas 
had to relate was calculated not only to increase their 
faith in the power of the gospel, and their zeal in the 
Saviour's cause, but also to encourage their prayers and 
efforts for still greater displays of divine grace in the 
conversion of the world. Pf such had already been the 
power of the gospel, who could assign any limits to its 
progress ? 

Twenty-eight years ago, not without many fears, in 
much weakness and inexperience, I left home and native 
land, for the far distant islands of the Pacific, on a simi- 
lar errand, and acting under the same authority as Paul 
and Barnabas; and that was to tell those then benighted 
islanders of a crucified Saviour. These years have 
passed rapidly away, and in the good providence of 
God I am once more on American soil, among scenes 
once most familiar and dear. 

It may be of use to you, as it was to the church of 
Antioch, to hear somewhat of God's dealings with those 



REV. JVM. P. ALEXANDER. 165 

laboring for him in foreign nations. To rehearse all the 
history of the Hawaiian Mission, since its commencement 
forty years ago, in a single discourse would be impossible. 
All that I shall attempt is an outline of what God has 
done for that people. In my remarks I shall attempt to 
describe: (i) The state of those islands at the time when 
the gospel was first carried to them, in the year 1820; 
(2) the means that have been employed for their con- 
version to God; (3) the results which have followed. 

In the year 1820, when the first missionaries arrived 
at the Hawaiian Islands, the population was estimated 
at one hundred and fifty thousand. Since that time it 
has diminished to about seventy thousand or eighty 
thousand. The barbarous nations melt away, when 
brought in contact with the diseases and vices of civil- 
ized lands. Where are the Indians that once roamed 
over this broad country? White men, deserters from 
ships, had been on those shores forty years before 
the gospel reached them, and had carried the diseases 
that poisoned the whole nation. Through them the 
work of ruin commenced; and it has been going on 
stcadil}' ever since. No change of heart, no prayer, no 
reformation, no degree of culture or intelh'gence, has 
arrested it; for the poison has entered the very blood, 
bone, and muscle of the people. God seems to have 
marked with peculiar displeasure the violation of that 
law on which depends the happiness and the very exist- 
ence of the human family. 

There was a remarkable preparation of the way for 
the missionaries before they arrived. The islands, which 
had been subject to a multitude of independent chiefs, 
continually at war witii each other, had just been sub- 
dued under the sway of a single individual, King Kamc- 



1 66 MEMOIR OF 

hameha I.; and the whole system of idolatry had 
been abolished by his successor, while the first mission- 
aries were on their voyage. What influenced the heart 
of this young, dissolute ruler to do this is not known. 
Probably he was moved in part by what he had heard of 
the overthrow of idolatry in Tahiti, but more likely by 
an impulse of his own reckless and impetuous nature, 
which would not endure the restraint of tabus. This 
left the nation without any religion. They were, indeed, 
without an altar or a priest. In regard to all that 
pertains to man's spiritual welfare, no people could be 
in a grosser darkness than they were. They had no 
knowledge of the true God, or of the way of salvation. 
They called evil good, and good evil. To the very 
gods they worsliiped, they attributed the vilest crimes. 
War was the business of their chiefs; and their wars 
were cruel. Their Government was a confused, unor- 
ganized, savage despotism of the meanest and lowest 
character. The common people had no rights. They 
were mere serfs, subject to the capricious will of every 
petty chief who might at any time exercise rule over 
them. They had nothing they could call their own, not 
even the pig or fowl at their doors. Their little all was 
liable at any moment to be swept away by some petty 
tyrant. Even the king and chiefs had no defined 
rights. They had everything by a most uncertain tenure^ 
and were filled with jealousies among themselves. In 
such a state of society there was no motive to industry. 
No man will improve his land or build a good house, 
unless he has a reasonable prospect of enjoying them. 
If his hard earnings may be swept from him at any 
moment, he will take care to own just as little visible 
property as possible. Accordingly we found the people 



REV. WiM. P. ALEXANDER. 167 

in the lowest depths of poverty and degradation. The 
chiefs had no other idea of ruh'ng- than to get all they 
could from their serfs, and the people had no other idea 
of serving than to evade the chiefs and to give them as 
little as possible. Is it any wonder that both were poor? 
that their habitations were grass huts, without windows, 
doors, or furniture beyond a few mats? that their bodies 
were naked and filthy ? in short, that their highest aim 
was to meet the wants of the present, leaving the future 
entirely unprovided for ? Is it any wonder, too, that 
injustice and want led to all manner of thieving, lying 
and fraud ? They were all liars and covenant-breakers 
They had no sense of obligation. To keep a promise 
or to fulfill a contract formed no part of their moral 
code. You could b'nd them only when you had power 
to compel; then they were faithful. Business could not 
prosper, property was not safe, nobody could be trusted. 
They had no word for conscience, or the moral sense, or 
for gratitude, or moral obligation, because they had not 
the ideas. Infanticide was common, in fact few women 
did not destroy some of their children. Oh, how deep 
their degradation ! What must be the state of that 
mother's heart who could in cold blood take the life of 
her own babe ! 

The vice most prevalent among them, and which 
has brought down upon them the severest sufferings, was 
licentiousness. Previous to the introduction of Chris- 
tianity this was universal. A description of it is im- 
possible, you could not endure it, neither would pro- 
priety allow it. In such a state of .society there could 
not exist what we call a family. You would look in 
vain for the order and government of the household, 
mutual affection and regard of husband and wife, the 



1 68 MEMOIR OF 

proper care and government of children, regular hours 
for sleeping and eating, labor and rest. All the founda- 
tions of the family were out of course, and the people 
were reduced to almost a mere animal existence. When 
I first looked upon them I exclaimed, " Can these be 
men and women ? Are they not mere animals ? " But 
no language can give you a proper idea of the state of 
such a people. To understand it you must live among 
them and hold daily intercourse with them. Every day 
would furnish some new development of their mental 
imbecility and deep moral degradation, especially if you 
were making efforts for their deliverance from the bond- 
age of their inveterate habits. 

Before I went abroad, I had sometimes wondered 
whether there were any people now living to whom the 
apostle's language in his epistle to the Romans would 
apply, where he says, " Being filled with all unrighteous- 
ness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, malicious- 
ness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; 
whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, 
boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 
without understanding, covenant-breakers, without 
natural affection, implacable, unmerciful;" but after 
living a few months among the Marquesans, and many 
years among the Hawaiians, from my own observation 
and information the most reliable, I am persuaded that 
every epithet here employed accurately portrays their 
heathen state. 

In no point of view does their mental and moral 
degradation appear more complete than in their worship 
of their deities, and in their religious rites, which they re- 
garded as their most holy services. To their gods they 
attributed the most atrocious crimes. They were supposed 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 169 

to be most cruel, bloody, and licentious; and the worship 
they offered them was no better. If the priest called for 
a human victim for sacrifice, he must be procured, even 
though they went to war for the purpose. On the death 
of chiefs the funeral rites beggared description for obscen- 
ity, cruelty, noise, and beastly exposure. I once wit- 
nessed a funeral scene (in the Marquesas Islands, similar 
to those in the Hawaiian Islands), which lasted seven 
days; they were the darkest days I ever saw. Com- 
panies came from all parts, filling the air with loud 
wailings, dancing in a state of perfect nudity around the 
corpse, like so many furies, cutting their flesh with shells 
and sharp stones, till the blood trickled down to their 
feet, the women tearing out their hair, both men and 
women knocking out their teeth, indulging in the most 
revolting licentiousness, and feasting to excess, while 
muskets were fired and sea-shells were kept a-blowing 
with a long, deep, sepulchral sound, during the whole 
night. Verily, I seemed to be for the time on the bor- 
ders of the infernal regions; and I wished that all the 
Christians in the world could have looked on that scene, 
and asked themselves the question, " Are such human 
beings happ}- ? Are they fit for the society of a holy 
Heaven and a holy God } Or are they not more fit for 
habitations of devils and lost spirits ? " 

I proceed to state the vicaiis which have been em- 
ployed to convert and evangelize the Hawaiian people. 
These were the pulpit, the press, and schools. In the 
pulpit there have been employed in those islands by the 
A. B. C. F. M. since 1820, forty-six preachers of the 
gospel and one hundred other laborers, who have assisted 
in the work, such as physicians, school-teachers and sec- 
ular agents; seventy-two of these were females. And 



I/O MEMOIR OF 

besides these, nine other cvangeHcal preachers of the 
gospel have been employed by the A. S. F. Society and 
by the resident community of foreigners. Their first ef- 
fort on arriving on those shores was to acquire the native 
language. It was unwritten, and had to be learned from 
the lips of the people, a difficult and tedious Work. The 
language acquired and no obstacle hindering, the Word 
was preached in season and out of season, in the house 
and by the way, with all plainness and boldness. The 
great instrument employed was the preached Word. Do 
you ask the character of the preaching? I answer, It was 
eminently practical, simple and biblical. The language 
being crude and barbarous, did not admit of much 
philosophical discussion ; and hence the gr.at aim has 
been to set forth in all plainness the fundamental truths 
of revelation, such as the depravity of the heart, the 
necessity of regeneration, the holy character of God 
and of his law, the fullness of the atonement made by 
Christ for the sins of the world, and the free offer of 
pardon to all true believers, who show their faith by 
their works. To preach these and kindred doctrines has 
been our great business. 

The press has been a powerful auxiliary to the pulpit. 
The language when printed being simple, the natives 
soon learned to read, and their fondness for reading- 
seemed to take the place of their fondness for heathen 
sports; so that it was difficult to supply the demand for 
books. The chiefs soon learned to read and encouraged 
their personal attendants also to learn. These when they 
had acquired the art, were sent everywhere . to teach 
others. The translation of the New Testament was 
completed in the year 1832, and of the whole Bible in 
T839. Through the munificence of that noble institu- 



REV. IV M. P. ALEXANDER. 171 

tion, the American Bible Society, several editions of 
both have been published and circulated among the 
natives, twenty thousand of the Bible, and fifty thousand 
of the New Testament. And through that other noble 
institution, the American Tract Society, a variety of 
tracts on the great doctrines and duties of Christianity 
have been sent forth. Besides these there have been 
issued a number of works of science and literature, all 
adapted to arouse and improve the mind, and elevate the 
character. More than two hundred millions of pages 
have gone forth from our presses, like leaves from the 
tree of life. 

Next in order of the means employed to save that 
people have been the schools. Go where you will over 
those islands, you will find the humble school-house 
and the sanctuary side by side. About twenty years 
ago the Government adopted the Puritan principle 
that the children were the property of the State, and 
that it was the duty of the State to see that all the 
children were educated. A school system, rude and 
imperfect at first, was begun, and it has been improved 
from year to year, until it has now nearly as much order, 
symmetry and efficiency as that of any other country. 
The State provides for the elementary education of all 
the youth, and requires them all to attend school. 
There are three hundred and thirty public free schools, 
embracing ten thousand children, besides a flourishing 
high school and twenty select or boarding-schools, in 
which the English language is taught. Tlicse schools, 
if we except those under Papists, are all under good 
Christian influence. 

These islands are now emphatically the land of 
Bibles, churches and schools. You will rarely enter a 



1/2 MEMOIR OF 

house where there is not at least a Bible and hymn 
book daily used. 

Having thus briefly described the condition of the 
people to whom we went, and the means employed to 
enlighten them, I will now narrate what has been the 
result. 

First, we will notice their improvement in things 
temporal. That cruel, iron-hearted despotism has given 
place to a Government under a Constitution and laws 
as enlightened and liberal as any in these free States. 
In the year 1840 King Kamehameha III., moved not 
by the advance of hostile armies, nor by threats of 
insurrection or revolution among his subjects, but ap- 
parently by a sense of right, by a feeling of good-will 
towards his people, by the advice of Christian chiefs and 
others around him, granted a Constitution to his subjects, 
by which, at one blow, the whole fabric of ancient 
despotic rule was demolished, and the people secured in 
their rights, both civil and religious. By this one act a 
nation of political slaves became a nation of freemen. 
This was a wonderful event; those precious rights, 
which have usually been obtained through bloody wars 
and revolutions, were here secured simply by the ad- 
vancing light and love of the gospel moving a mind not 
subdued to the obedience of Christ. 

This was not all. The same king, under that same 
silent, soul-elevating influence, by his own voluntary act, 
to the amazement of his subjects, made them all free- 
holders. Every man, however low his condition, was 
made the owner in fee-simple of the land he had been 
in the habit of cultivating for a term of years, and a 
royal patent for the same with the great seal of the 
kingdom was placed in his hand; and now the Kanaka, 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 175 

who was once a serf, trodden down in the mire by 
the haughty chiefs, lives in his own house as his castle, 
and literally under his own vine and fig tree. Such a 
state of things, it is safe to say, was never brought about 
in any other country in so short a time, and without 
even the appearance of violence or force. But let all 
the glory be given to God, who sends forth the gospel to 
heal the nations. 

By the same Constitution the right of universal 
suffrage was granted to the common people, and the 
rights of trial by jury and of a voice in the enactment 
of laws. No law can now be made without their con- 
sent. An independent judiciary was also guaranteed to 
them ; and you may now see the lowest native before 
the courts contending for his rights against the haughty 
chief, who but a few years before regarded him as the 
mire under his feet. The vast distance which once 
existed between the chiefs, who traced their origin to the 
gods, and were the very impersonation of pride and 
self-consequence, and the naked, cringing, spiritless serf, 
who could hardly realize that he had any rights, and 
trembled at the very idea of asserting them, was now 
immeasurably lessened; and for the last ten years we 
have seen both meet on the same platform, discussing 
public measures, and hand in hand working the whole 
machinery of society. 

The right of personal liberty and the security of 
property naturally led to more industry, though not so 
much as was expected. Indolence is an inveterate habit 
of the Hawaiian, induced by oppression for centuries. 
Yet a powerful motive to improve their lands was pre- 
sented, when they became the real owners of the soil; 
and, in fact, thousands of neat wooden or stone cottages 



174 MEMOIR OF 

have taken the place of the frail, dark and cheerless 
huts; and you find more or less furniture in all, some of 
them very well furnished. When they began to wear 
clothes, a single garment was oppressive; now all are 
daily clad, and to wear clothing has become a necessity. 
Public sentiment requires it. Most ( four congregations 
on the Sabbath present a very respectable appearance 
in this respect, in fact, they are apt to dress too well for 
their means. And here let me say that a desire to 
appear decently clad in the house of God on the Sab- 
bath has had, in my opinion, more influence in promoting 
cleanliness, order and decency among the people than 
all other civilizing causes put together. Every man, 
woman and child who attends the services of the sanct- 
uary (and it is the fashion among them to go to church) 
will find some suitable apparel to put on. The observ- 
ance of the Sabbath has been one of the great causes of 
their advance in civilization and outward prosperity. 
However shabby they may appear from day to day at 
their work in and around their houses, they will clean up 
and try to appear well in the house of God. 

The family constitution, that was once in ruins, a per- 
fect chaos, has been in some degree built up ; but it is still 
in an imperfect state. Where polygamy and the conse- 
quent domestic confusion prevailed, the law of marriage 
has been introduced, its violation punished, and some 
degree (in some cases a high degree), of domestic happi- 
ness exists. The higher and grosser crimes, such as 
murder and robbery, once so common, are now seldom 
known or heard of You can travel unprotected over 
the mountains and beautiful valleys of those islands 
with as much safety as in any part of the world. 

They were formerly a nation of thieves, and petty 



REV. WM. F. ALEXANDER. 175 

theft is yet too common, yet with the usual care property 
is as safe as in any country. Drunkenness once deluged 
the land; whole villages, men, women, and children, 
would plunge into it together; and scenes of debauchery 
were witnessed such as you must go to a heathen land to 
find. Now they are really a vastly more temperate and 
sober people than you will find in almost any part of 
this land. Wc rarely see a native intoxicated. 

Licentiousness has been the besetting sin of the peo- 
ple. Society was once a sea of pollution; and many 
ships visitingour ports were floating brothels ; and every 
village was a Sodom. But by the power of the gospel, 
stringent laws and public sentiment, this odious and 
consuming vice is driven back, as in this land, into deep 
concealment and midnight darkness. 

Ignorance, deep and dreadful, once rested upon the 
whole nation. No one knew the God that made him, 
nor the Saviour that redeemed him; there were no 
letters, nor books, nor schools. Captain Cook was wor- 
shiped as a god, and his ship regarded as an island 
afloat on the sea. The movements of the heavenly 
bodies, the eclipses and comets, filled the people with 
dismay. They regarded many diseases as a possession 
of devils that could be cured only by sorcery. Now it 
is a land of Bibles, tracts, useful books and newspapers. 
Taking the people generally they are well acquainted 
with the great historical facts of the Bible. They know 
the story of Gethsemane and Calvary, and that by faith 
in Christ we are saved. By a careful calculation from 
official documents I have come to the conclusion that 
as great a proportion of those islanders can read and 
write their own language as of any State in this Union; 
and the Government expends a greater proportion of 



i;6 MEMOIR OF 

its revenue to educate the people than any other Gov- 
ernment in the world. 

But you will inquire, What has been the progress of 
vital godliness among those islanders ? This is the 
great thing, for it pertains to the salvation of the soul 
and the glory of God. All the temporal irnprovement, 
all advance in civilization, is very well; but this does not 
satisfy the Christian. He wants to know how many 
souls have been saved, how many of the people have 
embraced Christ by a saving faith, as far as can be 
judged by their works. These are solemn inquiries and 
most reasonable; and I take great pleasure in giving 
them the most satisfactory answer in my power. 

I proceed then to state that there have been received 
into the twenty- two churches on those islands since the 
establishment of the mission, thirty-nine thousand two 
hundred and fifty-four persons on the profession of their 
faith in Christ, and fourteen thousand and four hundred 
children have been baptized; fifteen thousand six hun- 
dred and forty-four of our church-members have died, 
some too have fallen away and been cut off; and now 
there remain in regular standing twenty-one thousand 
six hundred and seventy scattered over the islands. 
These have been gathered from a population of about 
one hundred and fifty thousand in 1820, now reduced by 
the progress of depopulation to about seventy-three 
thousand. 

A large harvest you will say. Yes, blessed be our 
merciful God, there has been a great ingathering ! We 
have seen displays of divine mercy such as few are per- 
mitted to see on earth. The time has been when the 
whole people seemed to be moved by the presence of 
God, when the eager congregation would drink in every 



REV. JVM. P. ALEXANDER. 177 

word spoken like men dying with thirst. They received 
the divine commands with perfect trust, hke little chil- 
dren. They embraced the same Saviour in whom we 
trust, and on him they rely. 

Yet you may inquire, How do the Hawaiian Chris- 
tians appear ? How do they compare with Christians in 
this land ? It is not easy to give just the correct answer 
to these questions, as the Hawaiians differ so widely in 
their character and habits from the people of this coun- 
try. Many seem to suppose that converts from pagan- 
ism, as they emerge from deep darkness into the g'lorious 
light of the gospel and look back and see "the hole of 
the pit whence they were digged," will see the truth by 
contrast more clearly, love it more ardently, and walk 
more uprightly than converts in Christian lands. But 
this does not accord with my observation, nor with 
reason. Converts among the heathen are apt to be very 
imperfect, even those giving good evidence of real piety. 
Their former habits of idleness, falsehood and hypocrisy, 
dishonesty and licentiousness, are not eradicated at 
once, even though there be grace in the heart. They 
live in the midst of evil influences; they breathe a 
polluted atmosphere; their old habits hang like fetters 
upon them; everything but the grace of God is against 
them. Is it any wonder that their pastors must often 
exhort them not to "lie one to another ; " to "flee fornica- 
tion;" to "keep themselves from idols;" to lay aside 
all filthiness, all malice, and hypocrisy " ? But notwith- 
standing all this, taking our churches as a whole, there 
is very satisfactory evidence that they contain much 
salt. I know of no good people in the world who give 
better evidence of piety than many of our Hawaiian 
Christians. Some of them for more than thirty years 



1/8 MEMOIR OF 

have adorned the doctrine of God our Saviour, by a 
harmless, prayerful and godly life. Their constant at- 
tendance in the sanctuary on the Sabbath, and in the 
weekly prayer-meetings, and their sobriety of deport- 
ment, their keeping aloof from sinful pleasures, their love 
of the brethren, their patient endurance, readiness to 
give and labor for Christ's cause, afford reason to believe 
that they are born of God, and raised to newness of life. 
Some of them have made great attainments in piety 
and are shining Christians. 

The activity of our churches in the missionary work 
is very encouraging. The monthly concert of prayer 
for the heathen is generally observed, and they con- 
tribute liberally of their substance. They have sent 
of their people, men and women, to Christianize the 
tribes far to the south and westward in the Pacific. 
During the last year the contributions of the island 
churches for foreign missions amounted to $4,000, 
and during the same year they contributed about 
$18,000 for the support of pastors, the erection of 
churches and other benevolent objects. Most of them 
are extremely poor. Having no ready market at hand 
for the.'r produce, and being unskillful in developing the 
resources of their country, they get but little money, 
and that little comes hard. But of their little they give 
as freely perhaps as any churches in the world. 

This, then, is the result of mission effort on that peo- 
ple for thirty-nine years. They have become a people 
who were not a people. A nation has been redeemed 
from darkness and bondage, raised to light and freedom, 
and has taken its stand among the nations of the earth, 
with its regular departments of government, its systems 
of schools embracing all the children and youth, over 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 179 

ten thousand in daily attendance, its advancing agri- 
culture and commerce, its printing-presses, newspapers 
and literature. The name o^ Jehovah is invoked in 
every Privy Council of the king and in every legislative 
assembly. Oaths are administered in all their courts. 
The laws acknowledge Christianity as the religion of 
the country and punish idolatry as a crime. Temples 
once used for heathen worship, with all its obscenity, 
horror and blood, once thronged by naked, sunburnt, 
and beastly savages, have been demolished, and in their 
stead you find the temples of the living God, some of 
them excellent buildings, and erected by the poor 
natives by an amount of toil and sacrifice that would do 
honor to any Christian people There have been received 
to the bosom of the church about forty thousand con- 
verts from the darkest form of paganism; of these more 
than fifteen thousand have gone to their reward; and if 
we may judge from a Christian life and dying testimony 
for Jesus, many have gone to a blessed reward. Others 
are h.olding on their way, twenty-one thousand of them 
scattered over the group, in regular standing in the 
churches. 

All this has been gained, it is true, at cost of great 
toil, self-denial, and treasure. The churches of the 
United States have expended about a million of dollars 
in Christianizing those islanders. And now I ask. 
Have they not received a rich reward ? Had there been 
no good accomplished there beyond what pertains to 
this life, no good save that of freedom from oppression, 
general intelligence, decency, comfort, thrift, tranquillity, 
and self-respect, all the toil and care and lives and 
monc}' expended would have been a most profitable in- 
vestment. But when we consider the value of the soul 



i8o MEMOIR OF 

that never dies, the good hope wc have that hundreds, 
yea thousands, have been saved from perdition, and are 
already singing and will forever sing the song of Moses 
and the Lamb, have we not cause for gratitude that 
we have been allowed in any way to be co-workers in 
that blessed enterprise ? I bless God that he ever put 
it into my heart to go thither. 

I address, no doubt, those who have done much for 
that people. Your prayers have gone up for them, your 
sympathies have been with them in all their trials and 
struggles during their transition state. Your money 
has been contributed freely to aid them, and now, as I 
have rehearsed to you something of what God has done 
for them, do you not feel richly rewarded for all that you 
have done } You have a share in the work, a part of 
the reward is yours. And, oh, when you shall stand on 
Mount Zion above, by the mother who once murdered 
her own child, or by the old warrior whose greatest grati- 
fication once was to spill the blood of his enemies, or the 
haughty, despotic queen, Kaahumanu, whose tender 
mercies were cruelties, all washed and made clean in the 
blood of the Lamb, clothed in white and singing by 
your side the songs of redeeming love, will it not add to 
your bliss to remember that you had some instrumen- 
tality in bringing them to glory and blessedness ? 

Still our work among the Hawaiians is not complete. 
We cannot, like Paul and Barnabas, leave them and go 
on to tell other heathen tribes the glad message of the 
gospel. The polished, educated Greeks who heard the 
gospel from the apostles and embraced it, were very 
unlike the besotted Polynesian savages. Among the 
former were already the materials of a church organiza- 
tion. The apostles found among the converts persons 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. i8i 

whom they could at cnce ordain as pastors of the 
churches they had just gathered. Our churches are made 
up of babes in Christ, and they need the parental hand 
of the missionary who gathered them, to guide them 
still. Yet their missionary is mortal and will soon pass 
away. Who then will take his place ? It cannot be 
expected that the churches in this country will continue 
to send out fresh laborers to carry forward this work for 
forty years to come. No, Hawaii must have her own 
youth trained and fitted to fill all her posts of church 
and State ; and until she can do this, our work is incom- 
plete and nothing permanent achieved. The key-stone 
of the arch of benevolent enterprise we have been 
erecting, is yet to be inserted ; otherwise the whole struct- 
ure may yet fall to the ground. That key-stone is a 
college to educate our youth, where they may be trained, 
if God gives them grace, to take the places of their 
fathers and carry on the work begun, yea, and extend it 
to the thousand islands lying far to the westward with 
benighted, degraded inhabitants. 

A school was established at Punahou, on the island of 
Oahu, in 1841, for the education of the children of 
missionaries; for we could not feci at ease in our work 
for the people while our own children were growing up in 
ignorance. But as years rolled on, and our work pro- 
gressed, we found that we needed more than simply an 
academy. The colleges of America were thousands of 
miles distant; few of our youth could gratify their aspira- 
tions after a thorough education by going to those distant 
colleges. It was undesirable to send them so far away 
from parental and home influences; and more than 
all, the poverty of their parents rendered it impossi- 
ble. Accordingly, on application to the Hawaiian 



1 82 MEMOIR OF 

Government, a liberal charter was obtained, incor- 
porating Oahu College in the year 1853. And the 
institution is now in progress, having a President, two 
professors and seventy pupils. The majority of these 
pupils are the children of your missionaries; five are 
native Hawaiian boys; many are the children of respecta- 
ble foreigners who have adopted the sunny islands as 
their home. Our merciful God and Saviour has smiled 
upon this school, and within a few months eighteen have 
been hopefully converted. More than half of all the 
pupils are professed Christians ; and I know of no school 
in this land pervaded by a higher moral tone. What we 
need now is a little pecuniary aid to endow its pro- 
fessorships and place it on a permanent foundation. 
It is proposed to raise $50,000 for this purpose. The 
Hawaiian Government has generously subscribed $10,- 
000 of this sum. Two years ago President Beck- 
with and Dr. Armstrong, one of the Trustees, visited this 
country for the purpose of securing this endowment ; but 
the commercial distress which then rolled over the land 
arrested them in the undertaking; and now I have come 
with the hope of finishing what they begun. What we 
ask for would not more than build one small steamboat, 
or fit out one whaleship. And I feel sure that the Chris- 
tians here who have made so large and good an invest- 
ment in those islands, will now take measures to render 
that investment a perpetual source of profit and comfort 
to their own souls and of everlasting joy to those island- 
ers, and to the thousands who dwell in the regions be- 
yond; that this fountain which has burst forth in the 
desert, may send its healing waters throughout the vast 
Pacific for the furtherance of the gospel and the glory 
of our common Lord, 




MRS. MARY A. ALEXANDER. 



CHAPTER XV. 

MRS. MARY A. ALEXANDER. 

ACCOUNT OF HER DEATH AND TRIBUTES TO HER 

iMEMORY. 

AFTER the death of her husband Mrs. Mary Alex- 
ander lived at Haiku, Maui, in the families of her 
children, finding comfort, after the sad breaking up of 
the " Wailuku Home," in their love and sympathy, while 
to them she was by her influence and counsel and affec- 
tion a light and joy and a constant benediction. 

Her interest for the natives, for whom she had conse- 
crated herself in youth, continued; and in various ways 
she sought to do them good. One of her children has 
written of her: " She often went out to visit the natives in 
Pauwela (near Haiku), when I hardly felt sh2 was well 
enough. And she would often send for the (Hawaiian) 
minister to talk with him. I have known her also to 
make many personal appeals to different ones (of the 
foreign community) to become Christians. She never 
shirked a known duty. . . . She herself lived very 
near to God. Her thoughts were more with the next 
world and Christ than here." Another writes: "I think 
she spent most of her waking moments in prayer and 
reading the Bible. How many times she has talked with 
us of Heaven." 

Notwithstanding the loving attentions of her children 
and friends, she sadly felt the loss of her husband. In 

(1S3) 



1 84 MEMOIR OF 

a letter to one of her sons she wrote: " I miss him every 
hour. But the separation will not be long. There will 
be a glorious meeting by and by with all the redeemed. 
'Those that sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.'" 

That glorious meeting occurred sooner than had been 
anticipated. Since the foregoing memoir was written, 
and before it was published, the sad tidings have come 
of her sudden death. 

She had requested that her name should appear as 
little as possible in this volume, and wished her portrait 
to be excluded; but the propriety of inserting her like- 
ness, and these brief accounts of her and tributes to her 
memory, will not be questioned. 

She was at the residence of her daughter, Mrs. Emily 
Baldwin, at Haiku, when her death occurred. She had 
been uncommonly well Thursday (June 28, the day pre- 
vious to her death), and had written letters to all her ab- 
sent children, letters that to them will be precious 
mementoes of her. At nine P. M. she retired to her room, 
apparently in her usual health; but directly afterwards 
she called for assistance to her daughter, Mrs. Baldwin, 
as she was taken with a severe attack of cholera morbus. 
A native was sent to Wailuku (sixteen miles) for a doctor. 
But it was a dark and rainy night, so that the doctor 
did not arrive till five o'clock the next morning. Another 
daughter, Mrs. Dickey, was at Makawao, and at her re- 
quest was sent for. Mr. Dickey and Mrs. Baldwin ad- 
ministered what remedies they could; but she suffered 
greatly with paroxysms of pain during the night. Once 
she remarked, "This is my last sickness." 3ut her 
words were few, on account of her sufferings. The doc- 
tor, when he arrived, gave her medicines, which seemed 
to relieve her; and she fell asleep. At 5:30 o'clock (June 



REV. VVM. P. ALEXANDER. 185 

29, 1888) she awaked, and in the pain and retchings of 
her sickness suddenly fell back upon her pillow, death 
occurring from the rupture of an artery in the brain. 

The sufferings were now over; her long life of love 
and missionary toil was ended; the Heaven she had 
talked of, the glorious meeting with her husband and the 
redeemed and Christ she had longed for, were realized. 
She was at rest and in glory. 

The news of her death reached Honolulu the next 
morning. Hon. H. P Baldwin, then in attendance 
in the Legislature in Honolulu, chartered the steamer 
Likelike, and, accompanied by Prof W. D. Alexander, 
the eldest son, reached Haiku in time for the fun- 
eral, which was at ten A. M. the following Sunday. Most 
of the other children were in the United States, and one 
daughter was in England. A large concourse of the 
foreign residents and natives attcndedl:he funeral. One 
of the children has written: '* It did me good to see the 
feeling shown by the natives. They all came in and 
wept around her body, as she lay in her coffin. One by 
the name of Hao made a touching prayer over her." 
Very beautiful floral tributes were sent in, one of which 
was sent by a native woman, a cross, which was placed 
upon the casket. 

The funeral services were conducted by Rev. Thomas 
L. Gulick, who opened with a short prayer; the hymn, 
"Rock of Ages," was then sung by a quartet of voices; 
Rev. Bissell then led in prayer; the hymn, ''Beautiful 
Valley of Eden, " was then sung; then Mr. Gulick made 
the touching and appropriate address which is appended; 
after this the hymn, " Beyond the Smiling and the 
Weeping," was sung; then all followed the remains to 
the grave. This had been prepared north of the house, 



1 86 MEMOIR OF 

amongst orange and eucalyptus trees. It is proposed to 
remove the body at some future time, to be laid beside 
that of her husband in the cemetery at Oakland, Cali- 
fornia. "At the grave the native pastor led in prayer, 
and a native hymn was sung very softly and tenderly 
by a native choir, to the tune, ' Home, Sweet Home ;' and 
then 'dust to dust, ashes to ashes;' but the glorified 
spirit was already enjoying that bliss of which we can- 
not here form any conception." 



SERMON, BY REV. T. L. GULICK, AT THE FU- 
NERAL OF MRS. M. A. ALEXANDER. 

Zech. 14:7: "At evening-time it shall be light." 

This was very true of our dear Mother Alexander. 
After a long and bright day, filled with love and useful- 
ness, there was a serene and beautiful evening-time, in 
which a mild radiance shone about her, filling those who 
knew her with thoughts of Heaven, and bright anticipa- 
tions of the greater glory which she was soon to behold. 

When she suddenly left us it almost seemed as though 
we could see the pearly gates and the golden streets 
where she had entered to join her companion in the toils 
of earth, the innumerable company of angels, and the 
spirits of the just made perfect. 

She had but little of this world's goods, but what a 
rich legacy she has left, not only to her children, but to 
us all ! Its worth is above all rubies and precious stones. 
She was so retiring that only those who were intimate 
with her were conscious of the full strength of her char- 
acter; but who that knew her has not felt the warm pulse 
of her loving heart? 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 187 

God is love, and that divine love had so entered into 
her, that it seemed to have taken possession of her whole 
being, and to irradiate with light and warmth all who 
came within the circle of her influence. It was this 
flame of divine love burning bright in their hearts which 
led her and her husband, with a heroism surpassing that 
of the Pilgrim Fathers of New England, to sail from New 
Bedford, November 26, 183 1, tD spend their lives far 
from home and kindred, in lifting degraded savages out 
of heathen darkness. It was this unquenchable love and 
heroism which led a little company of six devoted micn 
and women, Mr. and Mrs. Alexander, Mr. and Mrs. Arm- 
strong, and Mr. and Mrs, Parker, to make the deter- 
mined effort for nine terrible months to live among the 
cannibals in the Marquesas Islands, which they left 
when they found that an English society thought they 
had a prior claim upon the field. 

For fifty-seven years, with only one short visit to the 
home and friends of her youth, Mother Alexander has 
spent her life in voluntary exile for the love of souls. 
The Marquesas Islands, Waioli, Kauai, Lahainaluna, 
Wailuku, and Haiku have for these fifty-seven years 
been witnesses of her faith, hope, and love. Among the 
most marked traits of her character was her modest, 
meek, and gentle spirit, which made her heroism the 
more noticeable and praiseworthy. It was always her 
joy to help any who were in need or distress, at however 
great inconvenience to herself 

Her children, her grandchildren, her neighbors, the 
Hawaiians, all who knew her, rise up and call her blessed. 
Those of us who have known her more during the last 
years of her life, have been struck with her constant 
solicitude for the spiritual welfare of all about her. The 



1 88 MEMOIR OF 

object to which she consecrated the strength and bloom 
of her youth, was increasingly dear to her in old age. 
Now that she is gone, an added responsibility to work 
and to pray for the salvation of souls, will be laid upon 
each of us. 

Our friend was one whose delight was in the Word of 
God. It was sweeter to her "than honey and the honey- 
comb." She "hid it in her heart," and " meditated on it 
day and night." 

One of the most familiar ways in which her children 
can picture their mother to themselves is with the loved 
Book open before her. Her mark was found in her Bible 
at the seventy-first psalm, which probably was the last 
chapter she read. 

"In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust;" "cast me not off 
in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength 
faileth." " I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee 
more and more." " Now when I am old and gray- 
headed, O God, forsake me not; until I have showed thy 
strength unto this generation, and thy power to every- 
one that is to come." " My tongue also shall talk of thy 
righteousness all the day long." '* My lips shall greatly 
rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou 
hast redeemed." 

We all know with what pleasure she sang with us, 
" Rock of Ages, cleft for me," and the other familiar 
hymns dear to every Christian. Now she has joined the 
heavenly choir in singing the song of Moses and the 
Lamb. " Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God 
Almighty, just and true are thy ways, thou King of 
saints." 

By a providential ordering, our theme at the last 
prayer-meeting she attended, and which she afterwards 



REV. JVM. P. ALEXANDER. 189 

said she enjoyed very much, was " Heaven our home, 
the home of our Father and Redeemer." 

The very last words several of us ever heard from her 
lips were the words of our Master, " If I go and prepare a 
place for you, I will come again and receive you unto 
myself; that where I am there ye may be also." The 
certainty and \\i^ joy of h^\r\g foreverivitk Christ was the 
last thought we heard her express. How fitting ! How 
sweet to remember! How little we then supposed that 
this dear mother in Israel would so soon enter the home 
to which her loving thoughts ran forward ! 

Can we not almost hear the welcome, "Well done, 
good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy 
Lord " ? 

I cannot feel, my friends, that this is a day of mourn- 
ing. It is a day in which Christ anew brings life and 
immortality to light. It is a day of victory; a day of 
welcome Jiome to one who was ready, and who longed for 
the Fathers house. Faithful unto death, she has received 
the croivn of life. Thanks be to God, who giveth us the 
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 



OBITUARY OF MRS. M. A. ALEXANDER, BY REV. 

S. E. BISHOP. 

By the death of this venerable missionaiy mother the 
survivors of the re-inforcement of 1832 are reduced to 
three, Mrs. Emerson, Mrs. Armstrong, and Mrs. Parker. 

Mrs. Alexander's maiden name was Mary Ann Mc- 
Kinney. She was born near Wilmington, Delaware, 
January 10, 18 10. In May, 1824, she made that public 
profession of religion that was followed and verified by 



190 MEMOIR OP 

a consecrated life of faithful and steadfast Christian serv- 
ice. She had become a resident of Harrisburg, Penn- 
sylvania, at the time of her marriage, October 25, 1831, 
to the Rev. W. P. Alexander. On November 26 fol- 
lowing they embarked at New Bedford in the Averick, 
as missionaries of the A. B. C. F. M. to the Hawaiian 
Islands. With the Armstrongs and Parkers, the Alex- 
anders lived for part of one year among the Marquesas 
cannibals, during 1833-34. That mission having been 
surrendered to the London Missionary Society, they re- 
turned to Honolulu, having endured great perils and 
hardships. They were then stationed at Waioli, Kauai, 
residing there until 1843. Lahainaluna Seminary then 
became their home until 1857, when they removed to 
Wailuku, Maui. 

Both at Lahainaluna and at Wailuku for forty years 
the Alexander home was the seat of the warmest and 
most abundant hospitality, to which the calm and gra- 
cious nature and the efficient ministrations of the house- 
mother contributed no less than the high and genial 
manliness of the honored father. It seems to us that, in 
the varied and pleasant memories of old missionary life 
in Hawaii, no home stands out in memory more radiant 
with generous Christian light and sweetness. Mrs. 
Alexander was a woman of ever high and earnest tone, 
wise, calm, patient, and faithful, steadfast and cheerful 
under many trials and burdens, and much experience of 
invalidism. Her faith in Christ was clear and strong 
from the beginning to the end. It ever sustained and 
rejoiced her, and filled her with love and zeal for the 
salvation of men. 

As the mother of five sons and four daughters, all but 
one of whom survive her, it was in the sacred maternal 



REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 191 

life that Mrs. Alexander's strength of body and spirit 
was largely expended. She was a loving, wise, and suc- 
cessful nourisher and trainer of her flock. The large 
and greatly prospered tribe of her children and grand- 
children do indeed rise up and call her blessed. To her, 
through them, Hawaii already owes much, both spirit- 
ually and socially, and is likely to be still more a debtor. 
Her memory and her husband's are especially dear to 
Hawaiians, so many of whom enjoyed their training in 
seminary and in household, as well as in pastoral inter- 
course. It may be truly said that their memories are fra- 
grant throughout the communities of these islands. 
Their works do follow them. 



EXTRACT FROM LETTER OF MRS. M. D. MER- 
RITT, OF OAHU COLLEGE, TO MRS. BALDWIN. 

My love and sympathy are with' you in your loss of 
the precious mother, who has gone out from your home. 
I knew her but slightly; but she won my heart by a let- 
ter of sympathy, when our baby died; and she has 
seemed very dear to me ever since. 

Your husband will tell you of the memorial meeting 
for her Wednesday evening, and of the loving expression 
from Dr. Beckvvith. I have thought so many times of 
last summer, when Mrs. Dana and I s it for nearly a 
whole forenoon in her room, listening with the most in- 
tense interest to her story of her life in the South Seas. 
She told, as simply and naturally as though they were 
nothing to be wondered at, experiences which seemed 
to us from our standpoint, a marvel of consecrated, self- 
sacrificing love. The impression made upon Mrs. Dana 



19^ MEMOIR OF 

was a most marked one, and she often spoke of it to me 
afterwards. 

I know what a benediction her presence must have 
been in your house, and how sadiy you miss her. The 
sadness and the loneliness are the reahties here. May 
the dear Lord give you abundantly his presence and 
help. 



EXTRACT FROM LETTER OF MR. E. BAILEY. 

So filled am I with thoughts of the blessed rest of the 
departed one, of the fullness of joy to which she has en- 
tered, of her meetings with the dear departed ones from 
whom she has been separated, and especially with that 
Saviour, whom she had so long loved and so faithfully 
served, that I am in danger of overlooking the sadness 
of the bereavement to those who are left to mourn her loss. 
Nothing can fill for them the gap so suddenly made. 
The torn heart will weep. But their grief too cannot be 
unmixed with joy at the remembrance of what she has 
been to them for so long, and that she has arrived at the 
close of a well- filled life, with so little to regret and so 
much in which to rejoice. Such a life as hers is seldom 
seen in our imperfect world. 

She had leaned much on her husband till he was 
taken away; and since that, although she has had so 
many kind and dutiful children ready to do their utter- 
most to fill his place, I am sure it could never be quite 
filled. And now she has gone to rejoin him. What a 
glorious meeting ! It was a marriage for eternity! And 
we cannot doubt that the reunion is a true one. She 
has met one child too, and will be ready to me^et them 
all as, one by one, they follow after her to the glorious 
world. 



REV. VVM. P. ALEXANDER. 193 

EXTRACT FROM A LETTER OF MRS. M. E. PARKER. 

I wish I had time to write much of your dear mother^ 
whom, as you know, I greatly loved. After your father's 
death and her return to the islands we frequently ex- 
changed thoughts on the subjects that were then engag- 
ing much attention, political and moral and always relig- 
ious. I miss her letters; but she does qot seem to me to 
be any farther away than while she was living on Maui. 

Let me mention some of my remembrances of her. 
Away back fifty and more years ago, when I first knew 
her, she was beautiful to look upon. If at length the 
outward faded somewhat under cares, labors, and sor- 
rows of mission life, we did not think of that; for the 
inward was strengthening in affection — in an affection 
that included not only her friends, but also the low races 
for whom in early youth she came to the Pacific. The 
great desire of her heart was to bless and save them 
and this continued to her last days. 

I well remember a little incident of our life together 
at the Marquesas. During the first week of our resi- 
dence there we stowed away very closely, for our homes 
were in a small shed. Her ten feet square was next to 
my ten feet, and Sister Armstrong's ten feet was beyond 
hers, in the end nearest the seashore. One time Mr. 
Alexander and Mr. Parker had planned an excursion to 
the next bay; they were to climb the cliff and descend 
into the Taipi Valley. This would make them absent 
a day and night. Your mother proposed that I should 
come to her room and sleep with her to beguile loneli- 
ness and share anxiety. About midnight we were 
startled by terrible, savage yells, and the sounds came 
nearer and nearer. Whatever it mio-ht be it was headed 
in the direction of our homes. Our first anxiety was 



194 MEMOIR OF 

lest William should awake, frightened, and attract the 
attention of the savages. Your mother said to me, "Our 
only refuge now is our God ; we will pray." The child 
slept on between us; the sounds were deeper and nearer 
for a short period, and then grew fainter; and the crowd 
passed the house, and went on in another direction, and 
we went to sleep undisturbed, under divine protection, 
was it ? We thought so. In the morning we found it 
was a religious procession that had passed by. A shark 
had been taken by the fishermen, and this was a god to 
be worshiped in the only way they knew. Does 
not this show something in favor of the heathen nations? 
have they not some sacred feelings ? some ideas of a 
Being over them, to be honored and worshiped ? Yet 
let me say it, that in their sensual daily lives it was diffi- 
cult to believe they had souls. 

I have digressed, I see, but the incident I have men- 
tioned shows how your mother always prayed, always 
believed in the answer of prayer, that it would come. 
Her letters to me always closed with the words, " Let 
us pray earnestly." 

I take pleasure in telling another incident of more re- 
cent date. We missionaries have our missionary friends, 
away from us, some of them poor, if one can be poor 
who serves the Lord Jesus. We have a friend who was 
once a missionary teacher at the islands. She has been 
many years away from us, and has had many reverses. 
Out of love the sisters here have from time to time made 
small purses for her. Mrs. Lowell Smith did it while 
she lived ; then it seemed to fall to my care, the privilege. 
But I was not always skillful as I desired to be, and 
sometimes was discouraged. So I wrote to your mother, 
thinking, knowing, she would send me her $5.00. When 



REV. JVM. P. ALEXANDER. 195 

the postal came it was so much I would not draw it, till 
I wrote and asked if the figures were correct. She re- 
plied, "Yes, right, draw it soon, for the money is paid 
and it is not best to delay." Well, to be brief, there came 
another $20, at her suggestion I supposed, for I had not 
asked for it. I love to think of this and many other 
acts; and this was among the last of her life. 

Your mother's true love for Christ and his kingdom, 
and her deep affection for her friends, and for her chil- 
dren, words cannot tell; but you know how her works 
testified for her. Her very last letters to me told of a 
new joy. "I am just now able," she said, "to get around 
to the scattered and distant homes of the natives in 
Haiku, as Annie (Mrs. Dickey) can now take me in a 
carriage, where I could not walk." She had often said, 
*' I have everything of comfort in my new home, only 
the natives live so far away from me." This difficulty of 
visiting the natives was always her deep regret after 
leaving Wailuku. 

Mrs. Lyman, of Hilo, was an especial friend and cor- 
respondent of hers; and as you know perhaps. Sister 
Lyman's sudden death was a great shock to her. She 
wrote me about it in a strain that was new for her. She 
evidently was reviewing her own life, searching out what 
she termed defects and short-comings, and seeking to at- 
tain a higher Christian consecration. Her letter pained 
me; for my impression was that she might be going 
soon herself, and that she had no need to review her life. 
But she recovered from this state of mind, and her letters 
were cheerful to the end. She had built on a solid 
foundation. Jesus was all in all to her, always, and 
prayer was her refuge in all the storms of life. 

Your father was the best and noblest of men. A great 



196 



MEMOIR OF 



deal went out of Hawaii that was love and kindness to 
me when he went. Now your mother has gone to him, 
and they are waiting for their children to join them ia 
the glories of the Lord. 




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